Speak Now Or Forever Hold My Peace
by jisusa-chan
Summary: There was just something about that pair that made her brain do wishful thinking, of how in the dark yet moonlit evening, black and pink looked so good together. Black and pink. Odd yet compelling. Weird but perfect. So perfect, she had to smile.
1. Mirror

**EDIT 052913: Yeah, um, hi. So, I was just bored and was thinking through things... when I suddenly decided to re-read this. And eventually, found a few typographical errors here and there. So, I just tried to fixed them, and I hope that the next few readers wouldn't see the shame I did. LOL**

**But don't worry to those who already finished this, coz I assure you that the plot and the way it is written won't be changed, not even the notes below. I just corrected a few mistakes and grammar errors. So yeah. Enjoy!**

* * *

CHAPTER 1: MIRROR

* * *

"Are we there yet?"

"Just walk, Naruto."

Oh, yes. He was getting frustrated. Who wouldn't, though? They've been walking on this _deserted_ desert for countless hours. And to be honest, it was getting tiresome, even for his teammates.

But it _had_ been a while since Team 7 was appointed to an escort mission; Heck, it's been weeks since they've been on a _single_ mission! So, as the loud-mouthed idiot as he was, Naruto never hesitated to agree.

"But I'm tired, Kakashi-sensei!" The blonde jinchuuriki waved his hands around, exclaiming his point.

"Shut up already, dobe."

Unfortunately, for a certain Uchiha prodigy, these kinds of missions never "trained him to the core". They were simple and only for the weak, according to him. Just too easy. Accompanying a human being was too much of an annoyance, and he didn't give a damn even if they were to guard a princess today.

So instead of getting more annoyed, he simply distracted himself into thinking of something else. Like, who the hell is this princess they were going to fight for from naïve bandits attempting to kill her? Or, why would this royal highness need shinobi who had their own businesses when she's so rich she could just hire spies or bandits themselves to protect her? Or better yet, who the damn hell meets up in a desert anyway?

Yup. Uchiha Sasuke was _annoyed_.

As always.

"Maybe because the desert is, umm... _deserted_?"

It was only when he heard his pink-haired teammate's voice did he realize that he was muttering his thoughts aloud.

"Hn." His usual reply.

She wasn't mocking him though; Sakura knew better than to do that. She simply answered him, because his grumblings were slowly irritating her a little. Funny though, she thought. It was quite a rare display, even for herself, that she'd get pissed easily from her former crush's annoyance. Yes, _former_. Before, she'd just giggle and squirm "Oh, you're right Sasuke-kun!" in his ears, then he'd push her away. Now she's just annoyed as much as he was. But they weren't exactly that mad at each other—at least, Sakura wasn't. It was probably because of the heat of this _damn_ desert.

Probably.

"Are we there yet?!" Naruto finally shouted, after minutes of restraining himself for the second time.

"He's right, sensei." The pinkette huffed. "I get that our travel is supposed to last for hours, but I feel like we've been walking on sand longer than before we even got here!"

"Do you even know where the meeting spot is?" Sasuke joined, _invisibly_ sweating.

Though he wouldn't admit it, he was getting tired as well. He just wanted this mission to be over so he could do _real_ training, rather than some stupid getaway to escort this damsel-in-distress.

"Of course I do." The copy-nin answered, with his finger up to emphasize that he was, in fact, not stupid.

The same moment he did, he stopped on his tracks—leaving the others no choice but to halt.

They blinked in confusion.

"Because this,"—Kakashi turned his head to his right—"is where we'll meet them."

For what a second felt like an eternity of unbearable heat, Sakura blinked at her sensei and looked at his sight's direction. Her emerald eyes caught what seemed to make her sigh in relief.

"Just in time."

The two other boys looked at what their teammates were seeing and turned their heads and found a group of carriages afar heading their way.

* * *

One carriage didn't attract that many attention. Really, they're quite common on the outskirts of Shinobi villages and who knows where. And again, _really_, whose attention would you want from this deserted place?

But it wasn't just one carriage—they weren't called a 'group' if its quantity was one. From where they were standing, Sakura counted four of them.

Four humongous carriages.

Okay, three big carriages. But the small one's size wasn't far from them, apparently.

Each of them (except for the smallest one) was enough to carry ten to fifteen people, the medic nin-to-be thought. Now, who on earth would want to carry their whole clan in the middle of this desert?

As the carriages finally stopped in front of them, she could already see how big Naruto's eyes are, as if he hadn't seen anything as big as this. The innocent idiot he was, she just smiled.

Behind the wheeled object came out a young man, about a few years older than them but younger than Kakashi, with hair as black as Sasuke's and a smile that was sure to swoon a few girls Sakura knew of.

"You must be the ninjas from Konoha." And his voice was like music to her ears.

But for a split second, Sasuke swore this stranger's eyes widened a bit. He didn't know why, and it wasn't like he cared.

If the reaction wasn't because of a certain female teammate.

"It's pleasure to finally meet you. My name is Takaaki Narumi,"—his hand slowly reached for Kakashi's, who reached back—"the princess's personal guardian."

"Kakashi Hatake."

Then he eyed his students, continuing the usual and formal introduction.

"This is Naruto Uzumaki." The blonde grinned the biggest beam and huffed, "Yo!"

"Sasuke Uchiha." Said boy just "hn"-ed.

"And our future medic nin, Sakura Haruno." Kakashi finished with an unseen smile.

Again, Sasuke saw the same reaction he did minutes ago from this Takaaki guy. He didn't want to know a while ago, but now he was actually _itching_ to find out why. It was as if this guy thought that Haruno Sakura was a ghost or something. Or like she wasn't supposed to exist.

The Uchiha didn't even fail to notice on how he blinked his eyes twice just to shake whatever he was thinking about off his head.

Or how this hell of a stranger was staring at Sakura longer than needed that it annoyed him to his very core.

How annoyed and pissed he was.

But Kakashi didn't fail to see this either.

"Is something wrong, Takaaki-san?" The pinkette finally asked, startling the boy before them.

"O-oh! No, no. I'm sorry. I was just, umm..."

Cute as it may to see the guy stutter and blush (not for Sasuke though), the carriage shook lightly. And it woke Takaaki back to reality that there was someone else he had to introduce to these noble shinobis.

Someone important.

The carriage's door opened slowly, and halfway through its movement, Takaaki immediately reached out for a hand—a woman's hand. He gently pulled out a figure, wearing a cloak.

One look and it didn't take a genius to figure out who this important person was.

Except maybe for Naruto.

It was a good thing Takaaki spoke before either of the Jinchuuriki's teammates killed him for being the densest idiot in the world.

"Kakashi-san, everyone... This,"

—holding her hand, as she stepped down the carriage, something green shimmered inside the hood that got Sakura's heart pound twice its speed for one whole second—

"...is Twin Crescent Island's princess, our Suzuna hime-sama."

Said princess reached for the cloak's hood and pulled it to the back of her head, finally revealing her new and unfamiliar face.

Only... it wasn't at all new and unfamiliar.

* * *

It was like looking at a mirror. A mirror from a dream. A horrible dream. Or a nightmare. Or a horrible fact of reality that no, she _wasn't_ looking at a _mirror_.

Even the rest of her teammates couldn't believe what they were seeing.

As soon as this Suzuna person pulled her hood over her head, there behold upon their very eyes of pink hair and green eyes. And it wasn't Sakura. It was the princess.

The important person they were supposed to guard.

The princess of the Twin Crescent Island.

But really, how could you not gape at the sight? Even Sakura's heart stopped for a minute, if that was even possible without dying.

The princess was an exact replica of the Sakura Haruno they knew of. She had light pink hair that ended on her shoulders, just like Sakura's. Her eyes shone emerald beauty, just like Sakura's. And her height, and her body build...

Basically, everything they saw of Suzuna-sama screamed of Sakura Haruno.

The whole scene just left everyone dumfounded and breathless and speechless... except the two newbies.

"Umm..." Takaaki broke the silence, which was actually getting more awkward than it already was.

His eyes scanned the shinobi before him. Naruto had his saucer-wide eyes on the princess, Sasuke had his forehead creased, and Kakashi, while keeping his cool, still had shock evident on his only visible eye.

And as for Sakura, well, you can't really blame her. The princess practically looks like her. Or the other way around.

Either way it was shocking. And weird.

"I suppose it's just me who thinks that what you are doing is quite rude."

Oh crap. Even her voice has the same tone as Sakura's.

"Oh! S-sorry, I just—"

"It's fine, Sakura-san. _This_ was actually the reason why I kept, umm... looking at you." Takaaki bowed his head.

Said medic nin simply smiled apologetically, right after she noticed her two teammates still in state of shock. Well, Naruto was.

Sasuke just didn't show it; she just knew.

It was then Kakashi cleared his throat, loud enough to snap the blonde back to reality.

"Our apologies for the rude impression, your Highness. I am Hatake—"

"I know. I was listening from the inside."

Though she had the same voice as Sakura, her monotonous sound matched Sasuke's. It might actually beat him.

...just _might_.

"My name is Suzuna Haruki. And Takaaki-kun,"

—it was then when she looked at his male companion when the foursome finally saw her smile, her shimmering and beautiful smile—

"...there's no need for you to call me Hime-sama."

Said man smiled back, as if there was nobody around them.

But just after a split second, Suzuna snapped back to the Shinobi before her, her innocent grin gone.

"Didn't I tell you not to call these kinds of people?" The princess glared at them, one by one—especially Sakura.

It wasn't the mad kind of glare. Just the easy kind.

Like the everyday Sasuke Uchiha.

"But Suzuna-sama, you know the kind of danger we'd face when we go back to the islands." The personal guard looked at her, silently pleading for understanding.

Sakura could tell that he wanted her to look back, to understand that he wasn't doing this to annoy his princess, but to simply protect her. Because he knew he wasn't enough, he had to disobey her command.

Because he cared for her more than his life.

"...Fine, then." The princess pouted, but not the kind of pout that would make you smile. She still had her glaring dagger eyes on the team.

As soon as she said that, she turned around and climbed back to the carriage—which was actually the smallest among the four big ones. The door slammed close, and Takaaki just sighed.

"I'm terribly sorry for that."

"Oh, no. We _were_ a bit rude for staring at her like that." Sakura spoke for her teammates, who still didn't utter a single word.

"But I really can't blame you. I, too, am still in shock, knowing that you look exactly like the princess."

"Or that Sakura-chan looks _exactly_ like your princess!" The Hokage wannabee finally breathed out, not even giving a hint of discretion in his voice.

* * *

The rest of the trip wasn't at all that annoying, really.

Nothing really bothered her. The heat was bearable after a few miles of travel. Plus, she had a bonus of sitting on top of the main carriage for a better radar, in case no one noticed if there was a rogue sneaking around.

Her teammates weren't in bad positions either—they were ninjas after all.

Naruto was walking beside the first carriage, which was in front of the princess's, and in Sakura's clear view. Kakashi was somewhere at the back of the whole caravan, since he said that it was most dangerous there. Sasuke was walking beside the one where the medic nin was sitting on, where Suzuna and Takaaki was inside, exactly where she could see him.

But it wasn't boring either. Though it was a desert, there were still bandits hiding behind who knows where. So far, they've already fought three groups—and all were successful.

Because the bandits were easy to handle.

Sakura sighed, her head on her hands.

...Okay. Maybe it was a _bit_ boring.

She heard the princess sigh too.

Then her thoughts went back to the earlier events, on how they saw Suzuna impossibly looked so much like herself... or the other way around, maybe.

It really felt like it was looking at a mirror. To see someone else have the same hair, the same eyes, the same face, the same everything? Heck, even the same voice. It was just impossible to witness something so extraordinary... so impossible, that for a second Sakura thought it was some kind of genjutsu.

It was just a second, though.

Or five.

Five. Whole. Seconds.

And it really didn't leave her mind; it was bugging her to death! She wanted to ask the princess about it too. Though she didn't exactly know what to ask, she just irked to find out how Suzuna reacted to it—on how they looked so alike.

"Hey, you."

Or how they weirdly thought of the same thing at the same time.

Sakura was about to ask, when the princess cut her off. The pinkette shinobi didn't mind not being called by her name, she was just desperate to talk to her "twin".

"Yes, Suzuna-sama?" Sakura had to lean towards the carriage's side to make sure the princess heard her.

She didn't need to, though. Even Sasuke could hear her.

"You sure you didn't just copy my face or anything?" The princess said bluntly.

"W...wha—?" Sakura's eyes widened.

Suzuna chuckled.

"Relax. I'm just kidding..."

It kind of sounded like it was a sweet, innocent laugh, really.

"I just... still can't believe that there's someone out there who looks like me." She sighed; Sakura practically could see a smile there.

The kunoichi sighed as well, letting out a little giggle. For a moment there, she thought she was going to get a sermon.

"Well, as the saying goes, 'Expect the Unexpected'. We live in a weird world, really." Sakura beamed.

"You're right. This world really is weird..." Suzuna sighed. "Weird and crazy."

"I really am sorry for being rude a while ago."

"No, it's fine."

"But it's been haunting me ever since! I really am sorry."

"I told you it's fine."

"But, princess—"

"Let it go, Sakura. She said it was fine." A cool voice intervened; it was Sasuke's.

The pinkette almost stuttered to find words to scold the boy—though not in the meanest way. She almost did, before the princess cut her off again.

The royal cherry-head placed her right elbow on the carriage's window, so she could clearly see the young Uchiha.

"She your girlfriend, Uchiha?" She spoke those words with a teasing smirk, Sakura felt it.

She felt it so much that she stuttered for the second time to defend herself. But the princess laughed... again.

"Really, Sakura-san! I was just teasing you."

Sasuke remained stoic, as if he wasn't part of the topic at all.

"Besides... I've heard of you Uchihas, of how completely serious you all are about life. And judging by your face,"—said Uchiha turned his head to the princess—"...I'd say it'll take you about 30 years to find a wife."

Suzuna was so blunt, Sakura could cry laughing. But she didn't want to hurt her teammate's pride. He was Sasuke Uchiha, after all. So she just covered her mouth and stifled her giggle.

But she could hear Naruto loud cackle outburst in plain sight.

Sasuke still remained cool. But his eyebrows did twitch a little.

_A little._

And just as Naruto's loud laughter slowly died, Sakura heard the princess sigh again.

"But you know..."—Suzuna smirked—"you two look good together. Really."

So did Sakura's cheeks and a bit of pink hue. She wanted to say something, but failed to.

"Reminds me of a certain pair." The pinkette princess added, eyes rolling to a certain person.

"Anyone particular?" Takaaki chuckled.

He was there, inside the carriage along with Suzuna. Though it wasn't like no one knew he wasn't there. He'd been there since they left the meeting spot, since the princess refused to let him out of the wheeled room. He just barely spoke along the whole travel.

He was smiling as much as she was, just across each other.

"Not my fault we're inseparable, Taka-_chan_." She had to giggle at the old nickname.

"Not my fault we've known each other since childhood." He smiled back.

"And it's also not my fault that Sakura-san and I are both pink, while you and the Uchiha are both black-haired dudes." The princess just bursted into a soft laugh.

Takaaki simply chuckled back, letting his princess have her own fun.

As if the two had their own world inside the carriage, Sakura just let herself smile. She didn't eavesdrop, but it was quite delightful to listen to them. They were both happy and so carefree, as if there was no one there to attack them. Or ninjas to protect them. Or the fact that their conversation could be heard, even by Sasuke and Naruto.

As if they were perfect for each other...

Now, now. Let's not jump to conclusions, Sakura dear. Suzuna is a princess and Takaaki is her personal guard. Though they've admitted that they were childhood friends and "inseparable", it was not possible that they were a romantic couple.

...Or was it?

The way they laughed themselves silly in their own magical world, Sakura just had to let the thought go. Knowing how busy and hectic Suzuna was at such a young age, it was alright to let her have fun, even in these moments.

"Must be tough to be a young and busy princess, right?" Haruno muttered, but enough to be heard by the said princess.

"Not really, no."—she shook her head and smiled a small one—"And I'm not that young anymore, Sakura-san."

Oh...

Wait, what?

"What do you mean? Aren't you, like, 13 or something?"

The confused kunoichi was already leaning on the edge, up to the point where she could see the princess's elbow still sticking out. Her hands were the only support she had to keep herself from falling down.

Was she being too humble about her age?

"No, of course not! I'm twenty-one years old."

"T... Twenty-one?"—she stuttered and blinked twice—"You're kidding right?"

Suzuna wanted to laugh really. A lot of people asked her the same thing too. It was kind of rude at first, but she just got used to it and joke about it now.

"Nope. Not this time."

* * *

**Oh my goodness, would you look at that: I'm still alive, bahahaha! Yeah, I have a good explanation for being dead for almost 2 years now. But I'm pretty sure y'all wouldn't believe me, haha.**

**Literally, school killed me. Last time I checked, my last update was when I was in senior high school, on the verge of graduating. Then things got very busy. VERY, VERY busy. I couldn't touch my fanfics, but my plot bunnies kept multiplying in my head. LOL**

**Then, I graduated, hurrah! So, yes. Now I am in college, but unfortunately, I gave more way to study (wow!). My course, I doubt anybody of you know coz I live in Narnia (BS in Graphic Designs and Multimedia). But believe me, it's hard! It's friggin' hard, the word itself is just an understatement, haha!**

**Then came a certain point in my life where I opened my laptop and wanted to type words and paragraphs... but to no avail. Why? MY LAPTOP CRASHED. Fudge.**

**My previous works are stored in a USB, but Love At Last Sight's sequel was in that worthless laptop. And I was even working on something new too! And both are in there, in that fudgy laptop that I have yet to fix. Dang it.**

**But I wanted to do something! My plot bunnies were getting out of hand that I wanted to write, even just one from all of them. So I picked this!**

**Anyways, I'm terribly sorry, really I am, for putting Love At Last Sight on a humongous hiatus. I feel bad than I already do. But hey, to make it up to you guys, I picked an old-themed fanfic and I'll try my best to finish this before May! Coz it's Summer here, and I'm bored. Wahaha.**

**Enjoy! xx**


	2. Secret

**EDIT 053113: Corrected a few mistakes here and there. No fear, the plot still remains (**_**of course**_**).**

**Enjoy y'all!**

* * *

CHAPTER 2: SECRET

* * *

"I will be assigning Team 7 on an escort mission."

Tsunade could hear two grunts from that single sentence she just uttered.

Well, she didn't have much of choice really. They were one of the few genin teams that was currently available. And it wasn't like D-rank missions were a surprise for them—they were, after all, just genin.

Only, not all D-rank missions were _entirely_ that easy.

"Now, don't give me those faces."—her eyes entirely on Naruto, frowning—"A mission is a mission. And its difficulty doesn't matter at this point. You should know that half of D-rank missions don't always end up easy as it sounds."

The young Jinchuuriki crossed his arms and huffed his answer.

He really didn't have a choice too.

"We understand, Tsunade-sama." Sakura answered for her team, like she always does.

Said female Hokage handed out a scroll, a map to the island. Sasuke took it without hesitation.

"Also understand that this person has an important role to her country. That is why it is very crucial for her to be in one piece once she steps to her territory." Tsunade's serious tone resonated across the room.

"What role may this be?" Her apprentice asked.

"Unfortunately, I cannot tell you right now, but your sensei will when he is certain to reveal it,"—the Sannin sighed, placing her intertwined hands under her chin—"but whatever it is, I'm quite certain it'll cost her if this _"role"_ is not finished."

The three nodded.

"The travel from the meeting place to the island will take at least 2 days, so you guys better make preparations—especially you, Sakura."

Said pinkette nodded.

Sakura knew her new role since she started wanting to be taught by the legendary medic Sannin. Although she hadn't been given any formal lessons yet, the Hokage always gave her medical books to have advanced learning about shinobi's health. She hadn't been taught yet, but Tsunade always told her that her great chakra control would be Sakura's great asset in the whole process.

No jutsus yet, just mental notes. And a few techniques that need not require a huge amount of chakra.

So, in some way, her team would depend on her more than before. And she's thankful for that new role of hers.

"I've already given the rest of the details to Kakashi. Now, dismissed!"

* * *

In the middle of that cool evening, she recalled the events from this morning, sitting on a cliff's edge.

The medic-to-be was reading the scroll Kakashi gave her. She had to ask him twice why he was giving it to her. He replied to her—_twice_—that he knew of her new responsibility, that she was more mature than before, and she was more mature than her two boys. She had to laugh at the latter answer, though.

And she couldn't agree more.

The scroll told her details to remember she knew Naruto wouldn't and Sasuke wouldn't care about. She read of Suzuna's identity, of her deceased parents, her birth—_proving her still-not-obvious age—_her importance to her country and the things about the twin islands.

And that Suzuna was to be married.

But to who, the scroll didn't say.

Sakura wanted to know though. She had been itching to know who the lucky guy was ever since she knew of it. But why no one was mentioning it was also something she wanted to know of—not even Takaaki spoke of a subject close to the princess's matrimony.

"_...your mission is to escort the princess of the Twin Crescent Island back safely. You may or may not ask her of her previous trip. Her safety is the most priority, not only because she is the remaining royalty of the country, but she is to be wed once she arrives to her homeland. Make sure that she is unharmed physically and mentally. If reports or complaints are to be received by Konohagakure, your mission is considered a failure..."_

Her emerald eyes scanned the unrolled paper for the third time already, taking note of valuable information. She was so absorbed by her new responsibility that she failed to notice of her two teammates walking closer to her.

"Sakura-chan, it's time to sleep. Let's go!" She could hear the goofy grin from her blonde teammate's voice.

Sasuke was there. But he was being himself, and chose to let Naruto speak.

"Yeah, I'll catch up with you guys later." The pinkette answered, turning her head to them, smiling her adorable smile.

"But Kakashi-sensei told us to get you! C'mon, Sakura-chan, let's go to sleep. I'm tired already. Aren't you tired? C'mon, c'mon!" The jinchuuriki threw his arms in the air, pouting. Sasuke was lucky to have quick reflexes.

"Then go to sleep, Naruto. Don't worry,"—she turned back to the scroll on her lap—"I won't be long. I promise."

"But Sakura-chan—"

"She said let's go." The Uchiha's voice seemed cold, but it really wasn't. He was just tired too.

"But—"

"Let's go, dobe."

Sakura could hear the ground scratching; Sasuke was pulling Naruto, whining loudly. She couldn't erase the smile from her face. Her two boys were so different from each other, but they were the same as well.

Naruto was just too outspoken—_and loud_—about his concern towards their female teammate. He wanted her to rest just as much as he did. It wasn't because he had a crush on her (but it had a factor in it), but his main reason was that she was his teammate, his friend. He had the right to be worried about her just as much as anybody would. And she'd accepted this worry-wart attitude of his a long time ago.

Sasuke, on the other hand, knew that she knew what's best for herself. If Sakura says she's fine, then she's fine. If trouble comes, that's the only time he'll force his point. He wasn't like Naruto, but he knew how to show concern in the _littlest_ ways—so little, she would need a giant magnifying glass to know. The Uchiha wasn't the type to to show his emotions, everyone knew that. But like their blonde idiot of a friend, Sakura was still a teammate. Even if he didn't admit it, she still has an importance to his life.

But Sasuke will always be Sasuke. Even if he was as concerned as Naruto, he'd never say more than one sentence.

"You sure you're coming?"

Except in those _very rare _moments.

Sakura turned her head back to his direction. Her green eyes shimmered against the moonlight, looking at his cool stance. He looked the same everyday—his face stoic, hands in his pocket, not a trace of a smile. But the concern was there. You just have to know him better to see it in his eyes.

The pinkette smiled at him.

"Naruto's not going to sleep until you get inside, you know." Oh, those dark, emotionless eyes.

"Then I guess you have to bear with him just like before."

"...Hn."

And they both knew how Sasuke didn't even want to spend another second beside that idiot when he's asleep.

Sakura turned again, scroll at hand, eyes on the starry sky. She felt a presence beside her. He didn't sit on the edge; he just stood there. Her left shoulder was an inch away from his leg.

They stayed like that for a few minutes, silence enveloping them. The kunoichi learned over the past few months that Sasuke's quietness wasn't really something to feel awkward about. In fact, she found it quite comforting. Her thoughts of the mission were temporarily gone, thanks to the beautiful view before them.

And to Sasuke's silence.

Then he sighed.

"You sure you'll be fine here?" He spoke with no annoyance whatsoever—just a simple question, really.

She nodded.

Then silence. Again.

For how long Sasuke stood there, she didn't know. She couldn't even tell if it was minutes or hours that they've already consumed just being there, staring at nothing. She didn't know if her genius of a teammate was waiting for her to stand up, or tell him to go to the tent. She didn't know what to say, mostly.

But what she knew was that, Sasuke was just being Sasuke. And even though she didn't have a crush on him anymore, that didn't stop her heart from beating faster than usual whenever he gave her those secretive rare moments.

And she wanted nothing more than to let him know.

Slowly, his foot took one step back. Then he spoke.

"Don't take too long. Naruto's probably worried by now."

As if he didn't want to leave, Sakura was sure that that was the slowest Sasuke has moved in his whole life.

"And Kakashi too."

Then he was gone, his retreating footsteps slowly fading away.

But her smile didn't.

* * *

Another pair of emerald eyes stared at the sky that evening, since she didn't have anything to look at anymore.

The sight of that pink hair swaying against the wind wasn't really that catchy, nor that Uchiha symbol on the boy beside the girl. She wasn't looking at them because she thought of them too young to be shinobi either. There was just something about that pair that made her brain do wishful thinking, of how in the dark yet moonlit evening, black and pink looked so good together.

Black and pink.

Odd yet compelling.

Weird but perfect.

...So perfect, she had to smile.

She made a mental note to get those two together, somehow. It's just sad they weren't, she thought. She was even being brutally honest earlier, of how they were a perfect match.

Then the Uchiha walked away from the pink-haired girl, his face on full view from where she was. There was no smile, not even a smirk. Just a plain face. But there was something that made her smile—a spark.

In an Uchiha's eyes.

Oh, what a rare sight.

But she had to put the matter aside, leaving her with that girl who oddly looks like her. She wanted to talk to someone, and Takaaki wasn't an option at the moment. The topic of the conversation she wanted to make was something she didn't even want to bring up in front of her escort—even if he was her best friend.

So she had no choice. Her green eyes narrowed at the sitting figure before her.

She wanted to talk to Sakura.

* * *

Of what felt like an eternity of a blissful silence, the kunoichi felt another presence coming towards her. For a split second, she hoped it was Sasuke again. But she knew better, so she erased the thought. If it was Kakashi, she'd probably hear his voice before he could come any closer. It wouldn't be a surprise if it was Naruto, too.

But she didn't get a hint of confusion when it was Suzuna who spoke behind her.

"Hey." The princess's casual tone wasn't completely casual like it was this morning.

"Suzuna-sama, is something wrong?" Sakura turned her head for the third time that night, of course to show respect.

"Can I ask for your company tonight?" Suzuna smiled weakly, still having second thoughts.

Talking about _this_ to a stranger was really something she'd never done before. But then again, the topic was something she never wanted to talk about for _years_.

"Of course, princess."

The medic-to-be was about to stand when Suzuna lifted her hand to stop her, telling her that she would like to sit as well, beside her. And so she did.

It was a very cool evening, but it was nothing Sakura couldn't handle. Suzuna had her cloak on her, so the kunoichi knew that the princess wouldn't be shivering anytime soon. The mission scroll was already rolled away, into her pocket behind her. Her hand tucked a few strands of hair behind her ear as the wind suddenly shifted for a couple of seconds before returning to its original direction.

It was getting eerily quiet, but no one dared to speak _yet_.

Until Suzuna did.

"Sakura-san?"

"Yes, princess?"

They both stared at each other, at their own reflections. Even though they had different clothes, people who didn't know them would think that they were twins. Their faces looked so alike that no one would know if they switched places the next day. But Sakura saw an exception from Suzuna.

There was a small round piercing on her right ear. The kunoichi guessed that it was for royalty only, because it was so tiny people didn't notice it until they stared at her for one whole minute. Good thing she found something to distinguish herself from the princess.

"You don't have to call me princess." Suzuna smiled an innocent one. "Just call me by my name."

"But princess, isn't that a bit—?"

"It's not rude unless _I_ say it's not."

Sakura had to admit: this look-alike of hers was very charming. She may be a princess, but it was just a title. Suzuna was still a girl like Sakura.

Just to see royal pinkette smirk from the last comment made her stop debating with herself about how to call her.

"Oh, alright. If you say so... _Suzuna_." She smiled, with a bit of pink on her cheeks.

They both smiled at each other for a few seconds until Suzuna looked back at the sight in front of them. Sakura joined her.

A few more minutes of silence came to them, Sakura thought of her teammates. She wondered what Kakashi was doing now. Was he standing guard somewhere? Did he have that perverted book with him again? Of course he did, she answered herself. What about Naruto? Was he still awake and sneaking around with ramen in his hands? Was he sleeping, snoring and annoying the hell out of a certain Uchiha?

And Sasuke? Was he out of the tent, walking somewhere? Was he beating the crap out of his blonde teammate while no one was looking? Probably. Or maybe he was waiting for her to come inside the tent to sleep?

Nah, that'd be impossible.

Although the impression he did leave her minutes ago was hard to figure out. Maybe, just maybe...

"Sakura-san?"

She had to thank the princess for waking her up from those weird thoughts. And she wasn't even being sarcastic.

She looked at Suzuna, telling her to continue whatever she was about to say.

"Do you... _like_ someone?"

"E-eh?" Those bits of pink came back to her cheeks. "W-wha...?"

Someone save her from stuttering, she pleaded.

"Do you like someone right now?" Suzuna repeated, her tone serious.

The medic-to-be blinked twice before answering. She swore she could have choked if ever she was drinking or eating something.

But the princess cut her off.

"Is it a mistake... to feel that way?"

Suzuna looked away, back to the stars before them.

Sakura blinked again, this time in confusion. Through the same emeralds the princess had, she saw sadness and so much sorrow in her eyes. She didn't know why she suddenly felt guilty, because she knew she couldn't do anything to cheer her up. She wanted to make her smile, to tease her like this morning and make her stutter and blush. She wanted her to laugh like the sweet innocent angel she was, to be happy again.

But why? Why was she broken?

"Are you aware of the event once we arrive at the island?" Suzuna asked in a monotonous voice.

Sakura nodded, knowing that she meant about the wedding that was needed to commence once they arrive.

Suzuna exhaled; the kunoichi could hear the regret in her breath.

"Is there something... wrong?"

"I don't want to get married." It was barely a whisper.

Silence.

"Why?"

Wind gushed over them, swaying both of their pink hair. But neither of them cared.

Sakura had her whole figure facing the princess, looking at her tilted head, waiting for an answer she wasn't ready to apprehend.

"Because I like someone else."

* * *

The morning sun was quite refreshing despite the setting of their travel. Yesterday was a _very_ hot day, everyone in the group was thankful for a cool evening. They were able to sleep peacefully, even though they were out in the open.

And it helped them to know that the island was almost a boat away.

The shinobi were back to their assigned posts just like the day before: a blonde in the front, the Copy Nin at the back, the Uchiha beside the main carriage and a medic on top of it.

Naruto beamed from ear to ear as he saw the sea, a sign that they were nearing to finally get out of this desert and take the princess back to her island. He practically shouted to everyone all of his thoughts, waving his arms. Like a kid in a candy store, he was excited.

The rest of his teammates were also glad. The boat ride would only last for a few hours then they'll finally see the beautiful island people knew about. And of course, they'll be able to go home after they make sure that the princess was safe home.

All of them were smiles—and a smirk—but for a certain pinkette.

Make that _two_ pinkettes.

Inside the small carriage was the first pinkette. She wanted to smile, she really did. But coming back home meant for another arrangement she had to attend to, an event that would certainly appease the two twin islands, a commitment she had been obligated to come to.

But she didn't want to.

And Sakura knew why.

Said kunoichi was the second pinkette. She was smiling, but she had concern over the girl inside the wheeled object she was sitting on. Her smile was as incomplete as Suzuna's wanting to go back home. How could she grin after what happened last night?

The face Suzuna showed her was something she didn't think she'd see from someone so innocent and untainted. Her heart broke as the princess who held her face begged her to not tell anyone, not even her teammates, not even her soul. And she couldn't say no.

But that didn't stop her from doing what was right.

"Suzuna."

The princess looked up, as if there was a hole above her that could swallow the ninja that called her.

"I promise, whatever happens..."

She could hear the determination in her voice. She should have heard pity, or anything close to sympathy—but she didn't.

"...I promise I'll protect you." Her emerald eyes glistened with power.

Sakura wasn't the kind to back down from a challenge. She wasn't the type to break a promise either. But she was just a shinobi, a medic-to-be kunoichi. She had no knowledge or power or any kind of ability to change fate. She wasn't the most powerful person in the world.

She wasn't even bothered by Sasuke's gaze on her, a small smirk on his face.

"Whatever happens, I'll make sure..."—Sakura smiled, hoping Suzuna could hear her heart—"...to protect you with my life."

But she was certain of one thing at the moment.

"...Thank you, Sakura-san." She heard the princess sigh in temporary content.

Suzuna deserved happiness.

* * *

**Wapam! Yezz. Haha, that sounded weird. And awful. OMG, a second chapter! Haha, this is very odd for me. LOL. Sorry, I'm just buzzin' over this. To any of you confused, Sakura wants to do something about Suzuna's situation, coz y'know, they talked about something that night. I'll tell you next chappie, do not worry people. But I won't be tellin' you anythin'. Haha.**

**SasuSaku ain't obvious though, but I'll make it happen. Patience is a virute.**

**And if your feeling a bit nostalgic, I'm going to admit that I came up with this plot from Naruto Movie 3. Y'know, the setting and all. And yes, I miss Team 7. So much. OMG, have you guys been reading the manga? Hahahaha. Sasuke you bastard. Kishi-sensei s so trolling all of us, confusing us with his powerful genjutsu and stuff. Haha. But seriously, if Kishimoto kills Sasuke before he even sees Sakura, I WILL CUT HIM.**

**Oh, and I watched Road To Ninja last Wednesday. Yes, it's a year late. But movies from other planets are always late in Narnia, so yeah. (I'm trying to contain my fangirling screams, btw)**

**And for a little info, I made the trip quite short because the real story begins when they arrive at the island. And in case you want to know, the island looks like two crescent moons colliding on its curve, so they look like two C's back-to-back. Did that make any sense? Oh well. And Takaaki? He's there somewhere. LOL. No, kidding aside, Takaaki has a major role in this. I just can't show it too much right now.**

**Again, a friendly reminder that I will TRY to update this as fast as possible. To let y'all know, I finished chapter one a week ago (yet I uploaded it yesterday, LOL, I was just too lazy shit haha). So, maybe this'll be a weekly basis? Depends...**

**But I hope you're enjoying so far, stick with me 'til the end a'right? Mwah xx**


	3. Daydream

**EDIT 060413: No worries, just a few typos corrected. Plot remains, even the notes at the end. Wahey.**

**Enjoy.**

* * *

CHAPTER 3: DAYDREAM

* * *

The whole trip consisted nothing but _normal_ for Sakura.

An hour after they finally saw a trace of an ocean, they arrived in a port. The port looked nothing like it was part of a desert. There was no village, but there were little houses—and a lot of them, too. There were sailors and different people. And they all knew who the princess was.

And they thought she was Sakura.

But as soon as Suzuna stepped out of the carriage,—with Takaaki, of course—they quickly apologized and bowed their heads.

So did Sakura.

Half an hour after transporting the needed items, the royal vessel—_oh yes_, it was royal because it belonged to Suzuna's family and it was already expecting them for days—sailed away towards the island. A couple more hours and then, they'd finally be able to step on decent land again.

For two hours, it was still quite normal for Sakura.

Except maybe for the fact that the people from the boat still mistook her for the princess.

Okay. It wasn't _that_ normal... But at least they didn't need to worry for rogue assassins on the boat.

"Maybe we should switch Sakura-chan with the princess so they wouldn't mistake them anymore." A certain blonde snickered, earning a smack in his head from said girl.

They saw the villagers at the island's port, gathering to meet their beloved princess. Once the boat stopped, Suzuna and Takaaki went down with no hesitance, and were greeted by the cheers of the people. The royal pinkette smiled and waved at them, thanking them for reasons the shinobi didn't mind not knowing.

Team 7 was behind them, as the crowd parted to give way for Suzuna. There was another carriage waiting for her, but this time, Takaaki didn't come inside.

As the carriage moved through the streets, people were waving and calling the princess's name. They were nice people, like in Konoha, Sakura thought. She smiled at the scene before her. Despite the fact that Suzuna was quite young, and her parents were gone, the villagers still adored her and looked at her like she was the most perfect being they've seen.

In the middle of it all, Sakura could already see the palace from afar.

When they arrived, the amount of people reduced, but there were still a lot of them. There were butlers and maids and guards who came up to the carriage. They all greeted the princess as she stepped down of the carriage.

And some still asked of Sakura's similarity to their princess's face.

Oh, well.

* * *

"It's alright, Takaaki-san. We really don't need an extravagant room."

After they all settled themselves inside the palace, Suzuna thanked the ninjas for escorting her back. She told them to follow Takaaki to their bedroom, then she excused herself and went to her own. The shinobi obliged, even though they knew that the mission was already done and that they were finally allowed to go home. But it was a bit rude to say no, they all thought.

But when they arrived at _their_ room, all of them gaped at the sight.

So much for going home once the mission was done.

"But even the princess insists you to stay, even just one night. Please, Kakashi-san."

The way he looked at it, Kakashi was the only one who still had the original plan in his head. But for some reason, he found himself debating with Takaaki about staying or not.

"Well..."

The copy-nin eyed his students behind him through the corner of his visible eye. He caught Naruto running around, exclaiming at how big the room was, and the fact that it was _only_ a guest room. His stoic Uchiha of a student was also looking around, having the same awe as Naruto did, but his face said otherwise—he was being Sasuke, after all. He also heard his pink-haired student agreeing with the jinchuuriki, but she was at the window, which was as tall as four of them combined, witnessing a grand view.

"And their garden is amazing! It's like a huge park... but a garden." He heard her laugh.

Their students were like hyperactive kids running around a playground—especially Naruto.

Probably just Naruto.

So he sighed; he had no choice.

"Please, Kakashi-san. Think of it as a repayment for escorting the princess home safely." Takaaki already had his hands in front of him, clasped together as if praying.

Kakashi sighed again, rolling his eyes back to his students.

"Besides..." The dark-haired guardian paused for a minute.

The copy-nin raised an eyebrow.

"The wedding won't happen today."

This caught Kakashi's perked ears.

"Why not?"

"For some reason, Suzuna-sama's betrothed wished for the ceremony to be moved tomorrow." Kakashi noticed a bittersweet shade in Takaaki's eye, like he was either happy that it was postponed or he was sad that the new date was the next day already.

But the shade faded immediately as he continued to ask. Another sigh.

Oh, what's the harm in staying more night?

"...Alright then." He smiled behind his mask.

Takaaki bowed his head and thanked the copy-nin twice, then headed to the door.

"If you need anything, please don't hesitate to ask." Then he was gone.

But they were shinobi. If they needed something, they were obliged to bring it themselves; if not, then they improvise.

"Hey, hey, Kakashi-sensei?" A loud blonde suddenly brought him back to reality.

He turned his head to him.

"Are we gonna stay tonight?" Naruto's blinding grin was something he'd never get tired of seeing.

"Yes, we are, Naruto."

He tilted his head to look at his other students who were coming over, probably to ask him something along Naruto's question.

"But we're not here to relax. We're still on a mission, so no slacking off." He nodded at them.

"Aww..." The blonde pouted for a second, but his smile came back. His hand went to his forehead and saluted his sensei. "Alright! Copy that, Kakashi-sensei."

So they talked of their unexpected stay, of where they were to secretly station themselves, of who gets the first shift at midnight, and who gets to sleep on the bed.

Because they were four in number. And there were two beds.

"I am _not_ sharing a bed with you boys." Sakura pouted with a glare, already hugging one of the bed's pillow.

"Don't worry, Sakura. I won't let these two perverts touch you." Their mentor grinned, with his thumb up.

"Who you callin' a pervert? _You're_ the pervert in this team!" Naruto raised his finger at him, inching away.

Sasuke sighed, getting slightly annoyed.

Bright side was, he wouldn't be sleeping on the ground again. But he was going to be beside Naruto.

_Again_.

So time passed by then they agreed to have a little tour of the palace themselves. Kakashi poofed away without warning and left his students. Sasuke being Sasuke just walked out of the room, no question of who wanted to come with him. Naruto asked Sakura if she wanted to come with him, but she declined.

"I'm really not going anywhere. Just the garden."

Then they were at their separate worlds.

* * *

The garden really was, _truly _amazing. No words could've been able to describe how big and wide and perfect the place was. If she could capture the moment, she would. So she could show her friends, especially Ino, and then they'd bet on themselves on who could count the most number of flowers.

She circled the garden, and she swore she might've taken almost an hour to see the whole thing. She was just too ecstatic to even walk in a normal pace. She took time to see the flowers that caught her eye—which were almost all of the flowers in it. She wanted to take one from each kind of flower and show them to her teammates, even if she knew they wouldn't appreciate it as much as she did. And she didn't care; she just wanted to.

But there she was, in complete awe, staring with bright emerald eyes. She took in the sight she knew she wouldn't see in a million years. They were, after all, to leave tomorrow.

A little breeze found its way to Sakura's shoulder-length hair, swaying it along with the colorful flowers dancing in her eyes.

The sound of incoming footsteps were enough to wake her up from her wonderful daydream.

Her head turned to her left.

"Sasuke-kun." She greeted.

And there he was, with his cool posture and oh-so-pretty face that held a normal emotion, a total opposite from her bright facade. She had to rethink if he was starting to become her crush again.

She simply looked at him, looking at the garden she was currently in love with. Did he like the place as well? Or was he just bored and ended up where she was?

Probably the latter.

When Sasuke stopped beside her, she finally spoke again.

"What are you doing here?" She was _obviously_ curious. She wasn't satisfied with her earlier speculations.

The refreshing breeze came back and greeted the Uchiha as he continued to gaze upon the flowery view. And so did Sakura.

"Isn't it pretty? I haven't seen anything like this anywhere at the Leaf Country."

He didn't answer, nor did he move.

But she didn't mind either. Sasuke was just being himself, the same emotionless guy she'd been with all her shinobi life, the same stoic and reserved boy she'd have a crush on even before she knew they'd be put on a team together, the same Uchiha Sasuke she never knew she'd put as one of the most important persons in her life, the same Sasuke-kun she would smile at for no reason at all.

Like what she was doing right now.

And she knew he didn't mind too.

Then he turned to her. And stared.

"You really look like the princess."

She pouted. What a way to ruin the moment, Sasuke-kun. But she let it slide, because she knew the way he conversed wasn't like Naruto or Kakashi did. He was always blunt and straightforward about his thoughts and feelings. And his feelings weren't so much to talk about. So she let the pout stay for a second, and returned the smile back to her face.

"Well, if you must know, Sasuke-kun,"—she showed him her smart grin—"there's still a difference between me and Suzuna."

He blinked, waiting.

"She has this earring on her right ear that's _so_ small you'd think it's a silver mole!" She chuckled. "So if ever we wanted to swap places, just look for that teeny tiny piercing, alright?"

She earned a smirk from him.

"I'd rather ask for her age."

"Oh that's right! She's older than me too." She laughed lightly.

"Naruto wouldn't even remember that." The Uchiha continued to smirk, with a hint of his usual mocking chuckle.

They kept on that same aura, wondering about how their pervert of a sensei and a loud-mouth blonde teammate would ask the princess about her piercing, or where Naruto was at the moment,—probably making little mischief somewhere the palace—or where Kakashi was too—probably just sleeping, or reading his porn.

"Maybe both." Sasuke muttered.

Sakura mostly did the talking, and the light laughter that filled the beautiful garden. She didn't even mind just standing in the middle of nowhere with him, like they were a couple of lost idiots. All she knew was that she was enjoying his company. Even if he wasn't as verbal as Naruto was, or even their other batchmates, it was quite nice.

Little did she know, Sasuke thought the same of her.

He wasn't the kind to tell everything that came into his mind, Sakura knew that. He had reasons not to, but there were a few that the reason was because he wanted to be a little selfish.

Sasuke wouldn't admit it to anybody, even to himself at first. But this pink-haired kunoichi grew into a stronger girl, someone he knew would be a great ninja in the future. She even asked for the Legendary Sannin's aid, and that was something to be amazed at. And he also noticed these past few months, was that she wasn't the same clingy and annoying girl like before. She wasn't helpless and weak anymore. She didn't squirm and squeal like the other girls at the village. Slowly, it crept into his mind that maybe Sakura didn't have a crush on him anymore too.

But for some reason, he felt a _little_ disappointed. He didn't know why, but he didn't let it bother him any further.

Still, she was a good friend, an important teammate. She would always laugh with him, talk to him even if he didn't respond like a normal person would. She still smiled at him, only better than her past smiles. Her new grins were softer, warmer, enough to make him feel safe.

Indeed, despite of it all, no matter how hard it was to admit to himself, he was growing fond of this girl. He was starting to like the fact that they had this moment all to themselves.

Nothing was going to ruin it.

"There you are, princess!"

Until some unknown bastard suddenly showed up.

The new voice made Sakura turn her head to the opposite direction, and found a stranger walking towards them.

He had dark brown hair that had a few lighter streaks, and his eyes were hazel. He had a very appealing face—good-looking really. He was wearing some kind of traditional clothing, a pattern oddly similar to the citizens of the island, only more extravagant. But he had an arrogant face that somehow made Sasuke more annoyed in his whole life.

This stranger closed the gap between the three of them—or at least, between him and Sakura.

And he was too close to the Uchiha's liking.

"I have been looking for you all over the palace." His deep voice felt so eerie for the pinkette's ears.

If she wasn't that scared yet, he suddenly took her hands and kissed them. Twice. And it made her shiver and turn into as pink as her hair.

She wanted to say something, but who the hell was this guy? She was just too stunned and shocked, that this stranger just kissed her hands like they were the most sacred things in the universe.

"My ears caught of the news about you finally back. So I rushed here to see you!"

And just as he was about to hug Sakura,—_he was about to what?!_—Sasuke shoved his hands away and stood between them, wearing his I'll-kill-you-if-you-touch-her-again face, glaring holes at his _annoying_ face.

"Who the hell are you?" He growled, making sure this bastard heard every single deadly syllable.

Really, who was this guy, walking towards them like he had the right, and suddenly kissing Sakura's hands like that? Sakura was not his, and no way in hell was he going to let him near her, let alone look at her again. This bastard was going to die, and he was going to make sure of it.

"I'm supposed to ask you the same thing! Who are you to separate me from my dear angel?" The man almost spat those words at him.

"_You're _dear angel? What are you, some sick maniac?!" Oh, Sasuke was beyond pissed. "She doesn't even know you."

"Sasuke-ku—"

"Doesn't know me?" The man was fuming already. "Princess! Who is this insolent fool? Doesn't he know that I'm yo—"

"Wait, did you say 'princess'?" Sakura blinked.

So that's what this was—another identity crisis.

"You've got it all wrong, sir. I'm not the princess!" She tried to smile.

"What... do you mean you're not the princess? Suzuna-sama, are you al—"

"She's _not_ the _princess_." Sasuke was growling again. "She isn't Suzuna."

So Sakura got mistaken again, the Uchiha thought. But that wasn't enough reason for him to forgive this arrogant bastard. He still touched her. Sasuke was still going to burn him alive.

The pinkette saw the man blink twice in confusion. She couldn't blame him though. Ever since she arrived the island, people have been mistaking her for Suzuna. And she couldn't blame anybody either; she just had to live for the fact that she had the same face as their princess.

Luckily, the real one finally arrived.

"Gisuke, what are you doing here?"

Sakura noted Suzuna had changed her clothes into a more simple yet beautiful dress—it still had those weird lines and patterns from their traditional clothes. She stared at her as she walked with a blank face, approaching the three of them. Why did she look like she didn't want to see this man's face, as if she wanted him nowhere near her palace?

"S...Suzuna-sama?" The brown-haired man—Gisuke—blinked again, trying to absorb the scene before him.

"Yes, it's me, Suzuna."

Suzuna eyed him for two whole seconds, and Sakura swore she saw a glint of something indescribable, something like a mixture of pain and anger. Then she turned to the two shinobi—Sasuke still in between Gisuke and Sakura. For a moment, the kunoichi saw her smirk, but it looked like her imagination. What was going on in her head that moment, she asked herself. But no answer popped into her head.

It was only then she noticed that Sasuke was still in front of her. Why was he there in the first place anyway? It wasn't like he was sort of protecting her from this Gisuke person, right? That seemed a little out of character, even for him. She could imagine Lee-san or Naruto do something of that sort, but Sasuke? Never.

In a million years, _never_.

Until now.

"Sasuke-kun."

She didn't know why her voice was lowered, but still she patted him. He turned his head to her.

"It's alright now. I think Suzuna knows him." She smiled at him.

A bright and _beautiful_ smile.

"My, my. I am terribly sorry for that mistake, my dear princess." Gisuke completely turned to Suzuna, approaching her like he did with Sakura minutes ago, his hands leading themselves to her hands.

"Apologize to Sakura as well." Was her blunt reply. With a blank expression towards him. She didn't even let him touch her.

"...Yes,"—he smiled slyly, then turned back to the kunoichi—"of course, milady."

Sasuke didn't let his guard down, reminding himself of his plan to murder this person if he tried to do something again.

"Oh, please. There's no need to. It was just an honest mistake." The pink-haired kunoichi waved her hands in front of her, assuring the persons in front of her—even Sasuke.

But he didn't accept her assurance completely, as he continued to smile at her in a cunning way. He brought his right hand to his stomach and bowed.

"Please, allow me to apologize. Sakura-san, isn't it?" He regained his posture, and suddenly pulled a rose from behind him and handed it to her.

Where did that come from? The Uchiha didn't care; he'd probably burn it as well.

"A beautiful name fitting for a beautiful lady." And for a moment there, Sakura was sure she saw his eyebrows rise a few centimeters, like in a flirty way.

"T-thank you, umm..." She was starting to feel like nothing about this mission was normal anymore; she's taking the previous statement back.

"Gisuke. His name is Gisuke Moshimo." Suzuna finished her sentence.

Said man turned his head around again and faced the princess once more, pulling another flower that still came out of nowhere.

"But of course, you're still the most beautiful lady in this island, Suzuna-sama."

Suzuna took the flower, but said nothing to him. Instead, she turned to the two shinobi.

"Sakura. Uchiha-san. Go back to your room. I wish for you and your team to be with me at dinner in an hour." Then she walked away without a second glance to the brown-haired man.

Silence engulfed them for a whole minute, until Gisuke turned back to Sakura. He didn't say anything; he simply smirked.

And Sasuke wanted to throw his kunais at him badly.

Then he walked away to the same direction as Suzuna did.

It was still silent as the two shinobi just stared where the two royalties have been, with Sakura still holding on the red rose, dumbfounded at what just happened.

"I wish that was all just a dream." She muttered, looking at the flower in her hands.

"Me too." He muttered back.

Because in his dreams, the mission would've been done. They were back home. And he was finally doing some real training.

And he'd probably have burned Gisuke. Alive.

* * *

**OMG. Chapter 3 is finally done. Did you guys know how much writer's block I had this week? I needed so much motivation I had to kill myself. Haha. Oh well. Thank God. I think my boredom and laziness showed on the first part of this chapter, sorry 'bout that. And in case you've been very sharp, yes, this fanfic is mostly Sakura-centric. I dunno. Maybe because this was supposed to be a first-person story? But I managed to squeeze a little Sasuke POV there. And just to clarify: Sakura still likes Sasuke, but not the same way as she does before. It's kinda hard to explain. I think, her feelings kinda, um, matured? Like, matured enough not to be called a "crush" anymore. But Sasuke still has a place in her heart, she just can't quite put her finger in it. Like I can't name what Sakura actually feels for him. (Note that this is still a SasuSaku fic)**

**So it's like, she doesn't have a crush on him anymore but she likes him like a crush, but a more matured version kind of crush? Ugh, someone help me.**

**Oh! I really really enjoyed writing jealous Sasuke-chan, hahaha! Sorry though, I couldn't show so much Team 7 interaction at the beginning. And Takaaki too. I was just so lazy I thought I needed to go the hospital, LOL. But hey! I still like it.**

**I dunno if I'm making a big deal out of this, but I can't see any reviews. LOL.**

**Nah, I'm just kidding. Really, I am. Hahaha... ha.**

**Btw, the chapter titles doesn't make any sense, do they? Hahaha, sorry. I'm still experimenting this title naming thing, coz I'm not very good at it.**

**Well, Imma be startin' on chapter 4. Thanks for readin' ya lovely people of the world! Cookies for everyone~ x**


	4. Uncertainty

**EDIT 060813: Few typos corrected. Plot and author's notes remain.**

**Enjoyyy!**

* * *

CHAPTER 4: UNCERTAINTY

* * *

Well, _this_ was awkward.

As soon as Sasuke and Sakura came back to their room, their other two teammates were given a chance to listen to what happened in the gardens—by Sakura, of course. She showed the rose and told them how weird it was to be mistaken again, because this time, Suzuna knew the person.

Naruto snickered a little, earning a glare from the pinkette.

He didn't know Sasuke was glaring at him too.

Then they both announced of Suzuna's dinner invitation. They had no reason to say no, so they couldn't help themselves but comply. So they waited for the said time, and went to the dining room—which didn't look like a room, but a _house_. The table was shining, and somehow looked like gold. Obviously, it was only for the royalty, given its size that surely was twice as long as the Hokage's room.

But that wasn't the reason why the scene before them was currently awkward.

As soon as they arrived, Suzuna and Takaaki was there. The princess sat at the end, and she ushered the team to sit on the chairs near her—_thank goodness for that_. Sakura sat the nearest, then Sasuke, then Naruto, lastly was Kakashi. Takaaki just stood behind her, no smiles though, being her personal guard. Then she announced that her fiance was coming over. Naturally, the shinobi nodded. But something was a bit off when she said it.

And Sakura knew that the same face Suzuna had was the same when she saw a certain brown-haired man.

Then the door from the other side opened, and two unfamiliar faces came out. One had aquamarine hair and a terrible scar on his face, the other had blackish-brown hair and had a bandage on his forehead. The clothes they wore were familiar, as if it had the same patterns with the clothing that was worn by someone with dark-brown hair.

"The Prince has arrived, Suzuna-sama." They both bowed, which was accompanied by their smirks.

Said prince walked in, and Sakura gasped.

Oh, yes. This was going to be _awkward_.

Coming out of the door, walking with his strange clothing and a red rose—_again?_—in his hand, he approached the group of people in the other end of the table. Suzuna rose from her seat, an invisibly _visible_ scowl on her face.

"Shinobi. This,"—she tried her best not to put death into her voice—"is Gisuke Moshimo, my fiance."

* * *

His eyes were as wide as saucers, then they narrowed down to irritation and anger, wanting to reach for his kunais and shurikens and throw them at this brown-haired man who was smirking at them—particularly at Sakura—like nothing ever happened an hour ago.

Kakashi may kill him after, but it didn't matter. Hell, he didn't care what the consequences were.

There was only one thing and _one_ thing alone in his mind: Sasuke. Will. _Murder_. Him.

Gisuke walked forward, wearing that sly grin that made the Uchiha sick, with his two companions towards the team of shinobi. If looks could kill, he was probably dead from Sasuke's.

"It's a pleasure to finally meet the persons who protected my lovely Suzuna."

Kakashi nodded at him, standing up and reached for his vacant hand. They both shook hands, but the Copy nin didn't fail to notice the reactions from his students.

"I am forever grateful,"—his eyes moved to Sakura, who slightly flinched when she noticed—"to you shinobi people."

Naruto was feeling the deadly aura beside him, where his male teammate was. The blonde was sure that the palace would be on fire at the moment if Sasuke didn't have manners. He tried whispering to him to calm down, but received only a fatal glare from him. Good to know they were teammates.

Gisuke let go of Kakashi and took a step forward, inching closer to the kunoichi's chair.

"Nice to see you again, Sakura-san." Then he winked and walked to the end of the table.

Sakura shivered, but her cheeks still grew pink. It was then that Naruto knew what Sasuke was feeling after witnessing the flirty wink, but his sensei held him from his chair. Sasuke still had his control. But he was almost losing himself to it.

But really, why wouldn't he? This wretched bastard was actually Suzuna's betrothed, and he still had the nerve to flirt with Sakura! Maybe he could let him cut loose from mistaking her for the princess, but in front of them all, in front of Suzuna, and in front of him?! Wow, he really was something.

Something Sasuke would willingly kill in every possible way.

Gisuke knew the dark aura coming from him and didn't pass the chance to cast a glare back, but only for a second. He didn't need to be distracted by a bunch of unworthy ninjas. He was going to give his whole attention to something else.

"A lovely flower for a lovely lady?" He bowed at Suzuna, who simple eyed him with a cold stare.

"That's truly lovely, Gisuke." She took the rose he'd given her for the second time. "You can take a seat now."

Her voice was just as blank as her eyes.

A few seconds after Gisuke settled himself beside Suzuna, with the shinobi across him, the maids and butlers came inside the room and placed their meals on the table in front of each of them. And because this was a place of royalty, the food looked _and_ smelled wonderful.

Suzuna then announced the start of their supper.

No one was able to resist their excitement. The food really did taste superb. They really didn't expect less either; this was royalty territory. Naruto couldn't stop his tongue from announcing at how "out of this world" the meal was. Suzuna chuckled for the first time since evening came from his comment and thanked him in the most angelic way.

Sakura smiled. At least now she knew they weren't the cause of her depressing emotion.

But it was still awkward.

The medic-to-be could hear every single sound in the room, from the utensils hitting the plates to the breathing of a certain person—she wasn't sure who it was but it didn't matter at the moment. The last decent voice she heard was Suzuna thanking Naruto, and that was it. No one was talking. There was no conversation. None.

And she wasn't used to this at all.

Well maybe she was used to Sasuke not talking. He never does, really.

"It's quite rude now, isn't it?"

Suzuna must've sensed her again. How does she do that, honestly?

All eyes came to the princess's direction; she was smirking in a bit of a forced way. Sakura could tell that half of that smile was fake.

"Gisuke. Why don't you introduce yourself to my guests?" She turned to the said man, her grin fading away.

"Of course, of course. How could I forget?" He said as he wiped his mouth elegantly.

So everyone had their ears open to the brown-haired royalty who smirked once again at them.

"My name is Gisuke Moshimo, as you may already know." He suddenly spared a little look at Sakura again before continuing.

The pinkette flinched again. Poor girl didn't even notice how murderous Sasuke's eyes turned into.

"And I am the Prince of the Twin Crescent Island."

Wait. What did he say? Sakura blinked.

"Prince of the Twin Crescent Island?" Kakashi spoke, raising his visible eyebrow.

"Isn't Suzuna-chan the princess? Why are you two getting married? Is that even allowed?" And the blonde followed.

"Let me explain." Said princess interrupted, still with a blank face.

The aura inside the room was getting tense, Sakura didn't know why. She wasn't even sure if she was the only one feeling it. But she was sure, that Suzuna's emotion wasn't blank. It was somewhere between pain and anger and regret. And a certain memory with her suddenly flashed into her head. A memory of certain night in the cliffs.

"It's true. Yes, I am the princess of the Twin Crescent Island. But because there are two islands, it's also obvious that there are two rulers. I was born naturally as the princess. But because my parents died when I was young, I took over the first Crescent island."

From that moment, the kunoichi saw a glint of sorrow in her emerald eyes.

"The previous King and Queen of the other island was supposed have their heir take over as well, now that they're dead, but for some reason their son was rumored to be killed."

"It was really saddening, but I had no choice but to take the prince's place, as his nearest cousin." Gisuke suddenly cut her, holding his chin up in the most arrogant way.

But he held no sorrow like Suzuna did. It actually pissed Sakura that this "prince" didn't even feel any sympathy to the death of his supposedly cousin and his parents.

The princess looked at her fiance for a second, with so much anger in her eyes, before continuing.

"But because the two islands are considered separated, from the difference of its traditions and its rulers, the two Kings made a pact even before I was born."

"What pact?" Her pinkette look-alike spoke this time.

"A pact that would join the two islands, of course."

"And thus, the wedding." Kakashi concluded. The princess nodded.

So that's why, Sakura thought. Finally there was an answer to a certain question that had been bugging her the whole time. For a few times, she'd been wanting to know of how Gisuke and Suzuna were made to be wed if the royal pinkette's face was nowhere near excitement. Because as a girl, she was sure that marriage was one of the few things that would make a woman the happiest in one day.

But Suzuna wasn't even smiling.

"Oh, I am certainly thrilled for tomorrow, aren't you too my dear Suzuna?" The prince disturbed the tension in the air that Sakura didn't even know was there.

"Yes." Suzuna nodded, and forced a smile even Kakashi knew was a fake. "Yes, I am."

"After tomorrow's wedding,"—his head was facing the princess, but his eyes kept darting at his companions who were standing beside him, by the wall—"we'd be together forever as King and Queen."

Sakura didn't even know how, but for a split second, her eyes absentmindedly caught the sight of another black-haired boy, who stood a few meters behind his princess—his childhood best friend. Takaaki held no smile as well. In fact, he looked like he was in dire pain, like he wanted to shout, to run out of the room and scream at anyone who was willing to bear with his sorrow. The pinkette suddenly felt pity, but she didn't know why.

What was going on in their minds?

For the last time that evening, Gisuke smirked in the most cunning way that made her shiver. And this time, she shivered out of fear.

"Starting tomorrow,"—the prince continued to smirk—"we will rule _all_ of the Twin Crescent Islands."

Sakura was starting to think that staying was the best decision.

For Suzuna's sake.

* * *

It didn't take too much time for the royal banquet to finish, given of how unbearably silent it was—it almost killed Naruto.

Gisuke spoke—more like, _announced—_of his delightful stay at the other side of the palace, so that he could "give space to the princess in preparing for their wedding". The shinobi said their gratitude and bowed to the two royalties, Suzuna smiling _only_ for them.

Sakura waved to Takaaki, who waved back. She smiled, and he smiled back—but a sad one, though.

Her teammates walked with her to their room, just to let everyone know that they wouldn't be _secretly_ guarding the whole place. They didn't know why though, but as soon as dinner was done, something inside of them boiled and made their decision the most significant at the time.

The shifts were forgotten as they told each other that they wanted the princess safer as much as possible, that not even dust could hurt her. Naruto agreed to use five Kage Bunshins, just to not cause commotion to anyone in the palace. Sasuke was to use his Sharingan once in a while, but only to a maximum of 10 seconds. Kakashi ordered Sakura to keep high alert on any chakra that felt like trouble, and she gladly complied.

She couldn't say, though, that she already felt cautious about Gisuke and his companions.

For one last time, Kakashi checked through their communication microphones. Three Kage Bunshins just outside the palace gates, inside the royal forest, another three Narutos inside by the wall, in case someone suspicious comes in or out. Sasuke walking around the castle, two kunais at hand, alert and blood already boiling—Kakashi didn't even want to know why. He checked on Sakura, who was inside the castle, roaming, looking for an idiot who was willing to die and had the courage to even break from the inside. And he was at the high roof of the castle, with a shadow cloak so that no one could spot him.

Then, night finally spread its complete darkness.

* * *

Sakura willingly obliged to patrol inside. First reason was, to be able to look further in the palace in case they needed to run somewhere or she needed to come to someone's aid. Second, she had to be nearer to Suzuna to have a relieved heart. And third, she needed an excuse to talk to her.

And there she was, in front of the princess's door. She could feel Suzuna so clearly, she knew her chakra levels were unstable from a certain emotion. Sakura knew that emotion any day.

Pain.

She closed her eyes and felt every fiber of chakra inside. Yup, Suzuna was definitely awake—and confused.

She knocked lightly, softly so no one would hear her, but loud enough to let someone inside hear it.

She waited for a whole minute—yes, Sakura counted. She didn't know how or why. Maybe because the tension was still in there. Maybe because the tension would just add after her talk with Suzuna. Maybe because she just wanted to make sure that the princess was safe.

But somehow, Sakura knew she wasn't.

"Who is it?" Barely a whisper. Suzuna must've been hoping it wasn't that brown-haired of a bastard.

"Suzuna, it's me."

Another minute.

Then the door opened by an inch, enough for the kunoichi to see the same emeralds her eyes held, enough to see the bit of relief in Suzuna's eyes, enough to notice the pure and innocent liquid forming in the princess's eyes.

"Can we talk?" Sakura smiled. A true smile for a true friend in need.

The door opened more, but not completely. At those times, Sakura was thankful she was more petite than her other girl friends.

The kunoichi heard the door's silent click as it closed. Then she turned around to face a mirror.

A broken mirror.

"Suzuna, I—"

"I know what you're going to say."

Sakura blinked. Pinkies' telepathy, that was the only explanation she could think of, after three times being interrupted.

"You can't do anything to change what's bound to happen, Sakura." Her eyes were at the floor, not letting Sakura see the true pain she was feeling.

"But Suzuna,"—the pinkette kunoichi tried to calm herself, lowering her voice in the midst of the silent midnight—"...you don't even have feelings for him."

The princess simply stood there, leaning on the closed door, her arms around her. Her breathing was uneven, but silent, that no ordinary person could tell the abnormality. But Sakura wasn't an ordinary person. She was trained to have her senses at its highest level.

"Suzuna, you have to stop this wedding."

"No."

"But, why—?"

"It's because you don't understand!" Suzuna snapped, her whisper loud yet controlled.

At that point, nothing mattered for either of them. Suzuna wanted this to stop, the lecture, the words, the harsh reality. She regretted letting this "twin" of hers inside her room, thinking she'd comfort her. But as soon as Sakura came inside, the opposite of what she expected happened. She only made her situation harder to bear.

Sakura, on the other hand, wanted this to stop as well, the wedding, the lies, the painful future. She knew Suzuna didn't love the guy; heck, she already knew who she _really_ loved! And Gisuke wasn't the one. She promised herself she'd make Suzuna the happiest bride, and it didn't matter if she had to ruin Konoha's reputation. If she had to jeopardize the mission and crash a wedding, then so be it. What good was spending forever with someone, if this someone isn't your happiness?

"What do you mean I don't understand?" The loud whispers continued. "Suzuna, you may be a princess, but your human too!"

"Sakura—"

"You have a heart that deserves its own happiness."

"Sakura, please—"

"And I promised myself that you'd get that happiness."

"...Saku—"

"No!" The kunoichi grabbed Suzuna's hand harshly, although she didn't mean any harm.

Two pairs of emeralds stared at each other for what seemed like an eternity. They both heard their fast heartbeats. They both felt their emotions flaring—one had fear, one had determination.

The way Sakura held her, made her look at her, to believe every single word she uttered. She eyed the mirror before her, with eyes pleading for her to stop. Her pink hair slightly swaying from the light breeze from the open window she never even noticed. Her hand softly trembling, begging to be released. She stared at her with tensed eyes.

"Gisuke isn't the one you love, Suzuna."

They might be alike. But there was one difference between them.

"You love Takaaki."

Sakura was a fighter.

* * *

He didn't know why he agreed on doing this. But something just made him do it. Was it his duty as a shinobi? Was it the mission? Was it the princess? A little. Was it his teammates? Probably.

But one thing was for sure.

He was bored. _Again_.

He was patrolling on the castle grounds, as Naruto was at the walls and his sensei was somewhere at the sky. Sakura was inside, and for some reason, he could feel her chakra was in a very intense level.

She wasn't physically fighting, because that would've made a ruckus.

But something in his head reminded him of how strong this girl was. She could handle it. If she needed help, she'd probably get it after she won.

And from all the thoughts he caught himself once again, he almost failed to see a certain black-haired man wandering in the same vicinity he was. He wasn't a threat though, because of all the people in the castle besides the princess, Sasuke knew Takaaki had the right to be there.

Takaaki noticed the Uchiha.

"Oh, Sasuke-san."

Said prodigy caught a glimpse of sadness in the boy's eyes, but quickly let it go.

"Were you asked to patrol the castle in the middle of the night?" He gave a perfect fake smile.

Sasuke had to pause and think if he had to be honest. What they were doing wasn't exactly a secret; they just chose not to tell. But this was Takaaki. He might be doing his own guarding as well.

"No, not really." The Uchiha walked to his fellow black-haired companion.

"...I see."

Seeing that the shinobi wasn't the kind for a long conversation, Takaaki chose to stay silent. He didn't mind it either. He wasn't even in the mood to talk about anything at all.

Especially when the next day was an event he needed to survive from.

"Sasuke-san?"

But he needed to let it out, or he'll break—more broken than he already was.

"Have you ever loved someone so much that you'd do anything for her? Even to the point where you have to let her go because it's the right thing to do. And it doesn't matter to you if it hurts you or it kills you. Because if you don't let go, people will judge you. And you don't want that for her." The personal guardian started talking, not caring if the ninja wasn't listening.

But Sasuke was.

"Have you ever loved someone that it hurts?"

"Why would it hurt if it's love?"

Takaaki whipped his head in slight surprise to the Uchiha who suddenly answered. It was strange to be talking to him, but his words sounded so honest.

In reality, Sasuke thought of his family. Of how painful _his_ love was for them, to see them die and not be able to do anything. Of how unbearable it was to feel weak and worthless and be alone. But now that he thought about it, he was still alive. And as hard as it was to admit it, he was happy to be with his team. He didn't know if he could call it "love". But he knew one thing about it.

Love didn't hurt. At all.

"It doesn't matter if it's right or wrong." Sasuke didn't know where these words came from.

Somehow, at that very moment, both guys were thinking of pink-haired beauties. Takaaki didn't know, but Sasuke did. He just didn't how or why. And why _her_? It didn't matter though.

"If you love someone, you won't give in to other people's judgments. It's not a matter of right or wrong. What's important,"—Sasuke turned his head to Takaaki, who was still in state of slight bewilderment—"is that you know that you're feelings are right."

Takaaki blinked, then he sighed. A frown came to his face, because he still had a hard time believing the Uchiha's words. He wanted to, but it was hard to do it.

"It will only be wrong if you think what you're feeling for her _is_ wrong."

"But I don't want her to get hurt."

"Then tell her."

Takaaki's eyes widened, then went back to its normal size. He stared at Sasuke, asking him of what he meant. It was as if the shinobi knew of who the girl was. Little did he know, the Uchiha wasn't a genius for nothing.

"Or at least,"—the Uchiha turned away, and looked forward—"admit it to yourself."

For the first time, Takaaki realized that what the shinobi before him said was true. He knew he loved her, but he had yet to admit it to anyone, not even to himself. Was that one of the major reasons why it felt wrong? Because he was too afraid to be honest to himself? Sasuke was right.

What he felt wasn't wrong. Because love was never wrong. And falling in love could never be less than wrong. Especially if it was her.

"Do you really love her?" Sasuke looked at Takaaki again.

They both looked at each other, with serious eyes and serious expressions. Takaaki finally realized something. And he was going to defend it with all his heart.

"I do. I love her."

A little breeze passed by them, swaying Sasuke's bangs as he smirked at the brave man before him.

"I love Suzuna with all my heart."

* * *

**OMG OMG OMG HAHAHA that turned out longer than I expected! Haha.**

**Did I make Sasuke a bit OOC? Sorry. I just couldn't think of a different scenario. The original scene was supposed to be between Sakura and Takaaki, but she was already with Suzuna. So I took it to Sasuke's labor. Besides, our lovely pinkette was in the middle of something that time. What is it? It's in the next chapter!**

**To be honest, I didn't think of this chapter's length. The first scene of the next chapter was supposed to be in here. But oh well, I got the hang of making an impromptu cliffhanger, mehehe. Any clarifications whatsoever, don't be shy to ask me :)**

**I noticed something too, that my chapters are getting longer and longer. Sorry. Hoho.**

**I also want to admit something. I'm not actually the kind to write long A/Ns. I dunno, I guess I suddenly wanted to converse to my readers, if ever you want to, LOL.**

**Oh, did you guys read the latest chapter? Haha, lol Kishimoto. He's trolling all of us.**

**Well, Imma be making chapter 5 now (wow, it's the fifth already?) and I'm pretty sure this fanfic's gonna end soon. Sorry it's short. It wasn't supposed to be longer than this. Oh well.**

**Reviews are very much appreciated! Thank you, love y'all, cupcakes! X**

**PS. About the love conversation between Sasuke and Takaaki, I honestly did not write that before. All the words the statements just came out of me. I know, I'm making this a big deal, but I don't know. I don't know where those things came from. LOL I don't even have a boyfriend hahaha**


	5. Plan

**EDIT 070713: Well, that took a long time to re-read.**

**Sorry 'bout that, guys. I'm in the middle of a deathly college life and it's really taking a toll on my normal life. And by normal, I meant writing and drawing... and internet.**

**No major changes, corrected a few typos. ENJOY!**

* * *

CHAPTER 5: PLAN

* * *

There was no sound anywhere. No breeze, no swaying trees, no curtains waving. No footsteps, no breathing, no heartbeat. Everything was silent. And it was slowly eating her up.

Sakura stood there motionlessly, leaning on a wall with color she couldn't see. Her green eyes shimmered with the moonlight, staring at the wooden door she came out of minutes ago. Her hands and arms felt limp, as her skin grazed lightly on her clothing. She couldn't hear her breathing or her heartbeat. She couldn't hear anything at all. Everything of her was still and silent.

Except for her mind.

Her brain kept repeating the same scene over and over again for the last ten minutes. She didn't know if she was supposed to be guilty when she almost shouted at the princess or if she was supposed to be relieved that she finally released her frustration at her.

Suzuna didn't deserve that lecture, especially not from some shinobi like her who was just a medic in training, whose strength was nowhere near her teammates, whose life was the simplest among anyone she could ever compare.

It's true, though, what the princess told her. She didn't understand anything at all. Sakura wasn't a princess, nor was she even in a high rank in the shinobi world. She wasn't in an arranged marriage or in the middle of a forced relationship. She still had her parents. She had friends. And she wasn't Suzuna. So how could she understand the royal pinkette? Who gave her the right to talk to her like that?

No one did. But she knew one thing Suzuna did too.

She knew what love felt like.

She reminded herself of the promise she made to her "twin", that she was going to make her happy, that she deserved happiness, and that she was going to get it.

The only problem was, Sakura didn't know how.

So she lightly hit her head on the wall. She didn't groan, nor complain about the pain. She just stood properly and started to walk away from the princess's room. She didn't know what direction she was going to, but it didn't matter. She just needed to think of how to grant her promise.

Seconds, minutes, probably hours passed as she noticed that she was still walking at the carpeted floors of the castle. She didn't know where she was, as slight panic rose to her chest. She could still feel the chakras of the people she knew. Kakashi was still up there, and Naruto and his Kage Bunshins were still fidgety as they were. And Sasuke...

She had the courage to smile for a second.

He was with Takaaki.

Suddenly, a chill went down to her spine as she felt three more chakras in the area. Now that she thought about it, she finally figured out where she was: she was at the other side of the palace—where Gisuke and his companions were. Great. What a way to make her night better.

But she thought about it, debated with her stupid ideas, and absentmindedly told her feet to carry her further at where the prince was. Why? She didn't know really. But she just knew in her gut that she needed to, like she knew that there was something fishy about this brown-haired man.

Only then did she notice the door leading to a room where the three suspicious men lurked. She was there, and there was no turning back. So she masked her chakra and cautiously walked over to the room. She leaned carefully on the wall beside the door, surprisingly enough for her to hear the voices inside.

"Are we ready for tomorrow?"

"Yes, Master."

"This time, for sure, we're going to be successful."

What the hell were they talking about? Was it the wedding? Well, that was strange, considering it was past midnight. And they were guys, for heaven's sake. They don't usually talk about weddings. It's the girls who talk about it endlessly over wine and loud talking and—

"Finally, I'll take over this worthless island."

Her eyes widened. She was a hundred percent that that was Gisuke's _disgusting_ voice, and that sentence did not have _any_ connection towards matrimony.

"I still can't believe people from the other island fell for that stupid lie!" He laughed evilly. "Those royalties don't even have relatives anymore, and they believed that I was a cousin?"

Oh, his laugh was just pure wretched. Along with his two companions too.

"After this silly wedding that was planned for many years, I'll be King of two Islands! And then people will have no choice but to obey at my every command."

She could feel her knuckles breaking from the harsh clenching of her hands. She was beyond mad.

"Just make sure that my men will arrive on time so that they could surround the _beautiful_ castle church and witness our _wonderful_ wedding." She could hear every sarcasm in that sentence; she would willingly cut his tongue by now.

"What about the ninjas?"

Sakura's ears perked up immediately.

"Oh. Them? They'll be gone before the ceremony even starts."

"What if they don't?"

The pinkette stood. She couldn't bear listening anymore.

"Then we'll take care of them too."

She wanted to blast the door open and kill them herself, but she was stopped as she heard the last few statements from inside of the room.

"And the princess?"

"Don't kill her..." There was definitely a smirk there.

She needed to run away. She needed to save her before it was too late.

"Because I'll be the one to do it."

* * *

They were both leaning on the same wall, bricks that didn't hurt them at all. The cool breeze hitting their faces as they looked at each other, success and determination in their eyes.

Sasuke smirked at this man before him. Finally, he admitted it. Takaaki finally admitted his love for that princess. The Uchiha prodigy didn't really know, but he had a huge guess that it was her. And he was right. One point for his pride.

But it wasn't his ego nor his pride that surfaced, but a face of gratitude. Not only was he thanking Takaaki for his confession, but this royal guardian made Sasuke realize of how important a _certain_ pink-haired kunoichi was to him. It wasn't as clear as Takaaki's feelings, but he had an idea of what it was and how strong it felt.

"Thank you, Sasuke-san."

Said shinobi simply smirked more and turned his head forward. Suddenly, he felt someone's chakra. It didn't bother him, though. He continued to smirked.

"You should tell her that. Before it's too late."

Then the boy paled.

"But the wedding..."—he bowed in defeat from realization—"I simply can't ruin the princess's reputation by telling it to her in the middle of the ceremony."

"Who says you'll say it there?"

Takaaki blinked.

"Besides, I already told you, didn't I? It's not other people's business. They don't give a damn opinion of your feelings for the princess."

"But—"

"Do you really love her?"

Sasuke looked at him again, with eyes as blank as ever. But the more Takaaki looked at it, he was determined. He wasn't playing with his emotions. In fact, it was strange to see that there he was, encouraging him to tell his feelings to the princess, even if it meant ruining the pact of her parents.

Confusion and fear dispersed from his face, and was replaced with courage, he nodded.

Sasuke smirked once again, while feeling a _certain_ someone's chakra getting nearer to their location.

"Then say it. Again."

And he did, with no hesitation, because of all the things he had done, this one was the most truthful.

"I love Suzuna."

Someone gasped, stirring Takaaki's panic mode. Oh, no. He didn't want anybody to know. Not yet. It already disappointed him, though he didn't show, that Sasuke-san was the first one to know. But even so, he didn't want anybody else to know further. He wanted the princess to be the next person to hear it.

But as soon as he turned around, facing the direction of the sound, his eyes widened. For a moment there, a deathly split-second, he thought it was Suzuna. His heart felt like it almost jumped out of his chest. But a second after, he blamed the darkness for mistaking Sakura again.

"Sakura-san—"

"I knew it!"

She was beaming with the biggest smile that reminded him of the princess, only prettier. No offense to the pinkette before him, he apologized in his head.

"I knew you liked Suzuna! I knew it, I knew it. I knew it!" Sakura was practically jumping for joy, fangirling in her own world, as if there weren't two boys watching her.

Sasuke's smirk was long gone, but was threatening to come back after witnessing the pure blissful reaction from his female teammate. Opposite to what Takaaki was thinking, seeing this pinkette at her happiest was one of the most beautiful she'd ever been.

Not that he'd say it aloud.

"Takaaki-san, you have to tell her. You have to!" She looked like an idiot—an _adorable_ idiot.

The pinkette took Takaaki's hands, shaking it, telling him how happy she was, how glad she was. But she didn't tell him how mutual his feelings were with Suzuna. She was tempted to, but she didn't.

"But... what if,"—he closed his eyes in a heartbeat, bowing his head again—"she doesn't love me back?"

"Nonsense! She's not going to decline you, I'm sure of it." Her eyes shimmered against the moonlight, she didn't notice Sasuke's stare of awe.

"How... How do you know?" He looked at her, seeing so much of Suzuna, but none of the girl he loves.

"Trust me. I just do." She smiled tenderly.

As a few seconds of their hands connected, Takaaki thought about it. Then he smiled back, and nodded.

"Alright. I will. I'll tell her the truth."

The way Sakura's smile widened more, the way her eyes sparkled brighter than they already did, how his heartbeat quickened as he looked at her, how prettier she was when she was that cheerful and annoyingly beautiful, he did not know what was happening with himself too. But Sasuke didn't think so much of it, as he stared at the two in front of him, silently celebrating of this new found discovery of this perfect love.

Well, Takaaki was silent. Sakura was giggling and squirming like a child.

And it was cute.

He inwardly slapped himself. How he got to that point of describing her as _cute_ was a wonder to him. And he had to stop, before anyone found out.

* * *

Seeing the sun was quite bittersweet, like everyday it had been. She didn't know if it made her happy being alive that day. All she knew was that a wedding was supposed to make someone, even her, glad and content. Instead, it's making her feel otherwise.

She felt _sick_ seeing the morning's bright sky. She just wanted this to be done with already.

Suzuna's emerald eyes gazed upon the castle grounds. She recognized a few famous and powerful persons, invited to the royal matrimony of course. She also spotted a very familiar old man—with his white beard and aging face. She smiled for a second remembering the last she saw him.

She hadn't seen Homura in years.

The last time she did was when her parents were still alive, when they visited the other crescent island, when everything wasn't in chaos and everyone was free to travel in either side of the islands. He was always beside the other King and Queen, smiling. He was a long-time friend of the royalties, according to the exchange of words Suzuna managed to hear. He knew of their son even before he went missing, and he was saddened just as much as all of them.

He was the only decent man left in the other island. Suzuna only hoped that Homura wasn't corrupted with Gisuke's existence.

"_You love Takaaki."_

Her look-alike friend's voice rang in her head again, stabbing her straight through her heart. No. She shook her head, desperate to erase the memories of last night. What Sakura spoke of may be true, but she had no time for her feelings anymore, not now.

Not ever.

But she couldn't stop thinking of him, of the man she loved ever since she met him. He was a stranger back then, an ordinary boy who had the charm of a real prince. Her parents took him when they found him barely alive on a street. And a few weeks after he got comfortable, they became the best of friends.

It all happened a month before her parents died. And she was glad they met Takaaki before they left. She was glad they found him, because she didn't even predict that she'd like him.

No. She _loved_ him even before she knew it.

And it hurt her like hell.

A few knocking on her door woke her up from her thoughts. She told them to enter, and came in her maids, signaling her that it was time to get ready for the big event, the joining of the two islands, the long-awaited wedding.

She sighed as they approached her, telling her to sit down and relax.

But she wasn't ready for the wedding to happen.

Because she wasn't ready to let _him_ go.

* * *

They could all hear the happy cheers and excited voices outside of their room. The sound kept increasing its volume by every passing minute. Of course they knew why. Today was a big day for everyone, literally.

"Sure is noisy outside." Naruto joked as he glanced at their room's window.

"Hn. Not as noisy as you."

"What did you say, teme?!"

Early morning, and they were at it already. This team was really something, Kakashi thought.

But they weren't aware of an invisible dilemma inside their own room. No one was paying attention to a certain pinkette who seemed fidgety and nervous. She had her back facing her teammates, careful not to show them of how panicked she was feeling. But how could they tell, if she was simply shuffling her bag, showing them of how girls are when they leave a place.

At first, she was honestly checking if she forgot something. But it was highly impossible; she didn't even bring a lot.

"Are we all ready?" She heard her sensei.

She knew they were waiting for her, because they could _clearly_ see that she still had her hands inside her bag. She was like that for a few annoying minutes, because she didn't know if she should tell them. Her hands were arranging and rearranging her things, giving them a reason to wait, telling them to halt. They didn't know why, though.

She couldn't tell them yet. She just needed a concrete reason. And she found none.

"Sakura-chan, hurry up." The blonde mumbled. Even though he didn't mean to, he was getting impatient.

The pinkette simply furrowed her eyebrows, getting more and more frustrated. Her actions were slowing down, gradually giving up. She just wanted to stay for a few more hours, just until the wedding was over.

She hadn't told them, not even Sasuke the night before, of what she discovered from Gisuke. Not a single word came out of her mouth right after she and the Uchiha separated ways from Takaaki. She was smiling that night, but in her head she was devising a plan, trying to think of how to save Suzuna in her own way.

But the number of plans she made was zero.

She knew it was impossible if it was just her. But she didn't want to let her teammates think that they were butting into royalties' businesses.

Oh, man. She was pressuring herself, she didn't even notice how sweaty her immobile hands were at the moment.

But she had to do something. Because she promised Suzuna that she'd have her happy ending, not with Gisuke but with someone she loved—someone like Takaaki.

The Uchiha decided to speak.

"Sakura—"

"Yeah, I'm ready!" She stood up, wearing the most perfect yet fake smile she ever had. "Sorry I kept you guys waiting. Let's go?"

She went out of the door, followed by her male teammates, who still had no clue of the painful war inside Sakura's head.

She still hadn't made a plan.

* * *

**Plain chapter title is plain.**

**Oh hi. Yeah. Sorry this chapter's short. I just had trouble combining a lot of scenes without making it longer. I mentioned that I didn't mean chapter 4 to be long, coz my head just won't stop making these scenes! Ugh. Ack. Sorry, haha. Really, really sorry.**

**It's a sad thought though. I know I'm being selfish, but I really don't know if anybody like this fic. I dunno, maybe because it's too shallow? Is it hard to understand? Please tell me. Coz I can't read any review, except for two. (I laughed at Channell285's review though, demanding me to hurry up, hohoho)**

**Just a bit of information to you guys about me... Sakura is REALLY my favorite female in the series. You can hate me all you want but Sakura being constantly bullied and I'll stand up for her whatever happens. She may not be the strongest, but trust me: SHE IS. She's not ugly. She's not flat-chested (where the hell did that come from anyway?). She's not weak (compare yourself to her, c'mon!). And she's certainly not useless!**

**And because I love Sakura, it may have resulted on how I love to use her as the main character in my fanfictions (except for **_**Existence**_** though). So yeah. Thanks for those who agree. Sorry for haters.**

**Want to discuss OTPs? Sure, I'll fangirl with you, mehehe.**

**I'll be trying my best to make chapter 6 as interesting as possible to make you guys happy. Leave reviews while you're at it too, LOL.**

**Bye xx**


	6. Reflection

**EDIT 071513: College is killing me.**

**So here's the re-read. As always, worry not. No major changes, just corrected a few typos. Even the author's notes below are untouched.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

CHAPTER 6: REFLECTION

* * *

Each step was like a painful bump on her huge forehead. She couldn't show how excruciating it was walking away towards the exit, the place where it'll all end—her non-existing plan, her promise, her secret mission. And most especially, Suzuna's happiness.

The team of shinobi were told to exit at the castle's back door, just to not cause any commotion to the guests and visitors. They gladly agreed, because they _really _wanted to go home. All of them except for one.

One who was slowly dying inside.

Urgh, goodness! Why can't this be as easy as it was in the books and movies?

Sakura kept blinking to keep her facade stable, careful not to show to her teammates, especially Sasuke who had been _secretly_ suspicious of her since the night before. Sometimes she hated that Uchiha of a teammate of hers, of how he could easily read most people like her.

But she didn't give up—_she couldn't_—even to the point where she was able to count exactly 10 seconds before their feet finally left the castle's territory.

She counted, listening to Naruto's noisy voice, complaining and exclaiming of how tired he was and how excited he was to finally go home. She counted, not even missing Sasuke's grunt over their blonde teammate's rude comment at him. She counted, and prayed for her head to _"come up with a plan, already!"_ She counted and counted and _counted_.

And at the last second...

"Ah! I forgot something."

Despite all the butlers and maids running around behind them, fidgeting and panicking over the wedding, her male teammates halted and turned to look at her, one had a raised eyebrow over his mask, one had an emotionless face and the other just had the same idiotic expression.

"Can you guys go on without me? I-I'll just meet you guys at th—"

"Sakura-san?"

This time, she turned around as well, facing the same direction as her teammates did. Along with them, she saw the last person she wanted to see. But she realized that she needed to see him for _this_ to work.

"Takaaki-san!" She spoke first—more like _shouted_.

"What are you still doing here?" He was slightly smiling, partly excited and partly relieved to see the shinobi still there.

"Oh, don't worry! We were on our way out." Sakura made a mental note to reward herself later for being a good actress.

"But Sakura-chan, you said yo—"

"But if you want, you could escort us to the port."

She was completely ignoring her teammates, but she didn't care. Not now when she's finally putting her pieces together. Not even when she could feel Sasuke's glare at her back as she desperately—_secretly—_begged the guardian to agree and come with them to the port.

"Well... if you insist then." Takaaki smiled, feeling a little bit helpless.

Sakura lightly pulled him nearer the team as she twisted herself to his previous position, a meter away from them.

"I'll meet you guys on the way, alright?"

"Where are _you_ going?" Sasuke spoke for the first time since they left the room, his eyes completely on her.

She already had her back facing them, her feet ready to dash away to some place they didn't know or a room she wasn't willing to tell them. But hearing those words didn't scare her. In fact, it made her stronger, and more determined to follow the plan she just made seconds ago.

"I want to say goodbye to Suzuna." She smiled, a geniune one, a fierce grin.

She knew it wasn't enough to convince them, but she wished they did. At least somehow, she knew that they knew how important Suzuna was to her, even in the span of two days. This mission was once in a lifetime, and the chance of coming back to the island was one in a million. She looked at them with that brave beam on her face, hoping they thought of their teammate simply saying her final goodbye to her new found friend.

Sasuke however, who saw a glint of inner strength in her eyes, had little doubt. But her smile dominated his thoughts and just nodded.

"Alright, then. Just hurry up, okay?" Their sensei grinned underneath his mask.

"Yes, sir."

Then she was gone.

Little did she know, despite seeing her teammates allowing her to be left behind, they didn't let go of the thought that something was wrong.

Especially Takaaki.

* * *

She eyed herself on the mirror for the umpteenth time, checking for any smudges of make-up or any errors on her white dress—anything that could add even a second of delay to the wedding. But she found none, and she didn't like it. She couldn't bring herself to ruin the outfit though, because her maids did a wonderful job in making her beautiful.

And how she hated how perfect everything was.

Well, _almost_ everything.

Suzuna didn't mind being wed at the moment. She was, after all, at the right age to do so. She had always seen herself in the same wedding dress she was currently in, with light make-up, her face shining in glee, her heart beating in excitement. Then she'd walk down the aisle with a veil that blurred her vision of her guests, her visitors, her maids and butlers—all but one.

Her groom.

Then she groaned in realization. That's right, her groom was an arrogant prince, _not_ Takaaki.

She sighed. But really, how could she marry that black-haired boy when there weren't feelings between them? At least, according to her knowledge, Takaaki showed nothing but special friendship towards her. Yes, he'd hug her. Yes, he'd laugh with her. Yes, he promised to spend the rest of his life with her. And that was it. No visible romance.

And it broke her heart.

"_You love Takaaki."_

Especially when Sakura reminded her last night.

The kunoichi's voice kept repeating in her mind, killing her at every syllable. It was like a notice, a warning. She didn't know if it felt right admitting to Sakura that she had feelings for the boy, or if it was the start of a punishment. But she couldn't tell, even to herself, if loving Takaaki was something she'd regret or something she'd use to kill herself.

But at the moment, those words were the only thing in her head, that she didn't even hear the knocking on her door.

When she did, she turned around to face the door. Somehow, she didn't feel scared of who it was. But on the other hand, she questioned herself why. Was it because she knew who was knocking? Was it because she was relieved to be awaken from the painful thoughts? Or maybe she just didn't care anymore.

"Who is it?" She couldn't even hear her own voice anymore.

The door creaked, slowly swung and revealed a color familiar to the princess's eyes—pink.

Suzuna eyed the shinobi pinkette as she slowly let herself enter the room. And everything about this mirror told her that it wasn't a mirror at all.

She noticed Sakura's ninja clothes. She realized how far their level was, as she wore a white and frilly dress, about to wed a prince that she never even loved—or even appreciated his existence in this world.

She saw her small bag, still the same as it was from the first time they met at the desert, flashing a memory of when she told Sakura that she didn't want to get married, not when the groom isn't the one she wanted to be with for the rest of her life.

It reminded her of something else too—that she was a princess, and even if she wanted to, after the wedding, she can never leave the island. But Sakura can.

It was unfair.

Just as unfair as seeing the kunoichi smiling at her right now.

It was as if the smile was mocking her. No, she didn't hate the girl, just the smile. And the fact that it was making her feel jealous that this ninja who looked like her was free of being a normal person, free of choosing her path in life, free in loving anyone she wanted and spending the rest of her life with that person. Even if she was a shinobi living in a dangerous life, Suzuna was envious that Sakura could eventually and _surely_ marry the person she loves.

"Hey."

"Hi."

But what Suzuna didn't know was the uncertainty in the pink-haired ninja's mind despite the bright smile she was giving her.

"So..."—Sakura took a few steps closer after shutting the door tight—"...the day has finally come."

Suzuna smiled sadly as her eyes followed her mirror's actions, sitting down at a chair meters away from her. It really did seem like she was looking at a mirror, she just didn't need to consider the clothes.

"You're finally going get to married." And a mirror Sakura was, reflecting Suzuna's lonely smile.

"...Aa."

It was like that for a few unbearable minutes. The silence was deafening, like it was at dinner last night. It was as sickening as marrying someone wrong. It was as painful as leaving the island without making a promise come true. It was just horrible. Painful. Agonizing. _Pure torture._

Suzuna didn't notice her trembling hands, clenching her wedding dress, biting back the tears, fighting the urge to scream.

She needed someone right now.

She needed Takaaki.

"Suzuna."

The bride jerked her head up, causing a tear slip down her eye. She didn't want Sakura see this, not now. Not after when the last time they talked wasn't exactly called a decent conversation, considering the medic-to-be simply lectured her and nothing else.

"Please..."—Suzuna turned her head away as Sakura moved closer—"please look at me, Suzuna."

And she did, not even bothered with how vulnerable she looked at the moment.

The younger pinkette wiped her escaping tears, took her hands wearing white gloves, and held it.

"I'm sorry." Was all Sakura said.

It took the princess a second to swallow a whimper that she almost released. She shook her head, with no clue of how to respond to this girl before her.

"I'm sorry this has to happen to you."

Suzuna closed her eyes, still no words forming in her head.

"I'm sorry I'm doing this to you. Not being able to stay by your side while you endure these happenings." They both heard the hidden pain in Sakura's voice.

"This isn't your fault, Sakura." A whisper as an answer, Suzuna's voice trembling.

Sakura shook her head, and formed a faint smile.

"I'm sorry I promised you something so stupid. I'm sorry I promised to protect you, to make you happy,"—A painful laugh lightly echoed in the room—"To even make you listen to my silly promises..."

Suzuna recalled the time when they first met each other, when she saw the faces of surprise from her teammates, when she teased the pinkette more than once, when she allowed her to hear a few conversations with Takaaki, when she eyed her with the young Uchiha, when she confessed to her, when Sakura promised her happiness until this very day.

She realized that last night wasn't a lecture at all.

"Sakura, I—"

"I'm sorry I promised you those things, Suzuna. I'm really sorry."

Said princess felt a tug from her hands, making her face the mirror once again. There she saw a pinkette who had red clothes, a headband that had a leaf-like image embedded on its metal part, a sad smile on her face... yet a determined spark in those bright green eyes.

Suzuna blinked, her emeralds slowly narrowing.

"That's why I'm sorry too—"

This wasn't a mirror anymore.

"...for being a _stubborn_ promise-keeper."

* * *

He looked at his giant mirror once again, staring at his white clothes, smirking at the thought of _finally_ being king. His wait was almost over. All the patience was paying off.

Gisuke laughed inwardly as he kept tucking his traditional wedding clothes.

"Soon, this kingdom will finally be mine. All _mine_."

His eyes darted at the two other figures on the mirror, his most trusted men. They were still wearing their casual clothes, as if nothing was going to happen, as if there was no event that day. And he didn't mind it all.

The formality didn't matter. The only thing that did was him finally becoming King.

_Finally._

Laughter escaped from his wicked mouth once again as he thought of his plan, the past and its future. He chuckled at the idiocy, the clueless state of the elders when he presented himself a year ago as the prince's "cousin". The picture was stuck at his head, the innocent joy of them finally relieved to find a new heir.

He had learned of the pact from underground rumors, months after the death of the King and Queen. They gossiped and talked of who would take over the Kingdom, who would rule over them.

"Surely, the princess cannot handle two islands at once." He once heard.

"Isn't she supposed to marry the young prince once they are both at age?" He heard another.

"What about the pact of the two Kings?" And another.

_What pact?_ His ears perked up with curiosity. He kept listening, all the while scheming of a treacherous plan already.

And there he found out of this pact, an information he thought at first was a made-up story .Why would the young prince and princess need to be married? Because the two Kings wanted the islands to be joined as one. There was never a separation to begin with; it was simply a misunderstanding of the past generations. So they thought of a solution.

Matrimony it was.

He smirked at the memory of him, looking at the mirror, seeing _very _little resemblance of the Royal family when they were still alive. But it was enough to drive him into a frenzy, in excitement to finally take over this wretched and useless island that gave him nothing but burdens of pain and sorrow.

He was born to a non-existing family, which led people to bash him, shame him to no end. He grew up with no one to turn to, no one to trust. He tried asking for help from the royalties, but nobody answered him. So he made an oath to himself.

Disguising his identity wasn't a big deal for him anymore. It was his key to _revenge_.

Everyone in the palace bowed at him when he resided, the maids, the butlers, the people who were once close to the previous King and Queen. Everyone except one—Homura.

The old man was the only person who didn't believe his story—which consisted of him who lived in a different country and heard of the death of his royal relatives who needed an heir so he headed back and volunteered to be the future groom of the princess that is Suzuna.

"For the sake of the island's future." Was the last phrase he uttered, which convinced everyone that he truly was the next King.

And how happy he was that day when he knew he was named "the next King".

Although, despite the dominating knowledge that the young prince—his so-called cousin—wasn't dead and was just missing, he didn't care. Not anymore. He was finally one step away from being the ruler of two islands. If his missing "cousin" _does_ show up, then he'll just have to take care of that himself.

By letting him disappear again.

_Permanently._

Gisuke sighed in contentment as he tucked his suit better, his eyes roaming all over the mirror before him, enjoying the moment.

"The princess should enjoy her last moments as well." He muttered to himself, still a cunning smirk on his face.

His companions smirked with him across the room. One of them, the one with the scar, spoke.

"The shinobi have left, Gisuke-sama."

The statement made him smirk more, if that was possible. Everything was going according to plan. Nothing was going to ruin this day, especially his schemes.

"Good."—he turned to the two, his eyes half-lidded—"I'll leave them in your men's hands."

"Yes, sir." The scar-faced man bowed.

"And... take care of that Takaaki guy too."

Then the guy vanished, leaving thin smoke in the air.

Gisuke went back to the mirror, but his eyes were on the other man on the reflection.

"Soon. It will be over soon."

A couple of knocks were heard from the door. It was time for the wedding to start.

"And I will finally have this island _all_ to _myself_."

* * *

**Crap, I hate this chapter's ending. And length. Oh hey. Sorry 'bout that. I don't know what's happening with my head. I'm getting lazier and lazier by the week. And I had the nerve to promise to update this every week. I'm really really sorry.**

**Just to clarify, **_**that**_** (points to the top) was Gisuke's past. I couldn't think of a bad experience for him, so my idea just led to something low. Haha... Sorry. I also couldn't think of a couple of names for the two companions. I hate my crappy mind today. Ugh.**

**Although, someone from my reviews made me laugh again. Coz someone actually guessed what's about to happen. LOL. Is my story that predictable? Sorry 'bout that.**

**I appreciate the few reviews I read. A lot of you said that I shouldn't give up, and also to update soon. LOL. Haha, oh well. I'm sorry I'm getting lazier. But thank you so so so much! I'm loving you all very much.**

**A reason why ask reviews though is that I really don't know if people understand this. But thanks anyway...**

**Shout out to all of ya ma peeps. Mwah mwah!**

**Thank you all, more reviews please? Cupcakes and cookies x**


	7. Crack

**EDIT 072013: A few typos corrected. No major changes, even the last notes are untouched.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

**(a/n: Fair warning, I won't be making fight scenes here. I just don't know how. I'm sorry. Please bear the lack of action in this chapter. Sorry, again.)**

* * *

CHAPTER 7: CRACK

* * *

Exiting through the backside of the castle wasn't exactly the best decision they've made.

They were shinobi assigned to escort the princess, to make sure she was safely returned to her island and to make sure that she was safe. Staying overnight was not in the plan, but it was a harmless offer and in the end they accepted the royal hospitality. They were then told the next morning that if they planned to leave early, they could. Only, the condition was to not disturb the guests who would arrive _earlier_ than them.

The back door was the only exit.

And boy, it was not the most pleasant kind of departure.

They couldn't hurry up with their journey for various reasons. First: the trees were tall enough to hide them, yes. But oddly enough, they were too tall to have branches. So the team couldn't resort to jump on them.

Second, was that Takaaki was with them. Even though this wasn't his duty, he had told them that he felt a bit responsible on forcing them to stay overnight, which meant he also had the primary duty to send them out himself. And even if he was the princess's personal guard, he was still a civillian; he couldn't run as fast as them.

Plus, for some weird twist in fate, a certain pinkette shinobi managed to convince him to go with them and escort them to the port.

And the last reason, wasn't really a big deal for all of them—except for Sasuke. It wasn't that nerve-wracking to walk to the port without their pink-haired teammate. She was a shinobi, after all, and a future medic nin; she can take of herself. It just felt a bit wrong, and odd... and annoying.

Awkwardly annoying.

Sasuke couldn't stop thinking of her, not that he wanted to stop though. He'd be asking himself of her location, of what she was doing, of her situation, of her safety. Where was she? Was she fine? Did she hurt herself on the way? Did Gisuke flirt with her again? Oh, the nerve of him.

Yes, he was dead worried by now.

And he _swore_ he'd give her a piece of his mind once she catches up with them.

Sasuke kept mumbling—thankfully, the leaves' sounds were loud enough to block his own noise—and inwardly cursed himself to stop worrying and just keep walking. He looked at his teammates in front of him, Takaaki beside Kakashi, Naruto muttering, complaining the distance they had to take from the back of the castle to the port. And his ears perked a little when he heard the jinchuuriki ask where Sakura was.

Not that he was going to _visibly_ react, though.

But his eyes did concentrate on a certain boy that had the same hair color as he did.

The Uchiha knew what Takaaki was thinking of. They had more similarities than their physical features. One of them was that they were both thinking of pink-haired girls. And how anxious Takaaki was, was something very noticeable—especially after the night before when he promised himself that he would finally admit his long-time hidden feelings for the princess.

But how was he going to do it when he was there, escorting a bunch of ninjas that could take care of themselves, while the princess was at the castle, probably with another pink-haired lady, about to be wed to someone else?

People today were really _stupid_, Sasuke thought to himself.

As stupid as Sakura Haruno.

After minutes of debating with himself, careful not to show on his face, he was finally courageous enough to voice out a simple question that he'd been asking in his head—_where the hell is that girl?—_when a sound of moving bushes caught their ears and made them stop, stepping into cautious crouches for the incoming attack.

They were silent for a few seconds, eyes practically burning the bushes behind them, waiting for a figure, or an army, to show up.

Takaaki was behind Kakashi after he pulled him there, behind his protective stance. Naruto and Sasuke had kunais in their hands, one had his teeth gritted and one about to active his Sharingan.

The sounds came louder and louder, until a flash of a familiar color popped out of the plants.

"Sakura-san?" Takaaki spoke in surprise and relief.

Finally, she was there. In her red ninja clothes, her bag, her wide emerald eyes that held... _fear?_

The pinkette blinked at them as if she saw ghosts, but quickly dismissed a thought in her head and formed a smile that somehow didn't feel right.

"O-oh! There you guys are." Sasuke could've sworn that he heard a crack in her voice. "I was worried I wouldn't be able to find you."

"Wow, Sakura-chan. You scared us there for a minute!" He eyed his blonde teammate from the corner of his eyes, but only for a second.

He stared at Sakura again—an intense stare.

"Well, what are we standing here for?" Her eyes were scared; and he knew. "Let's go."

Sasuke Uchiha was worried for what seemed like an eternity walking through this annoying and stupid forest. He admitted to himself that he couldn't stop thinking of her whereabouts just minutes ago, and he knew that he promised himself that he'd give her a scary lecture, enough to let her know how late she was and a little hint of how nerve-wracking it was to wait for her.

But no matter how much he wanted to scold her, he couldn't. It wasn't because he didn't want to. But something in his chest was pushing him, scolding him back, telling him that something was wrong. He suddenly remembered how suspicious he was of her when she told them that she was going to say goodbye to Suzuna.

He let go of it at first. But the tiniest doubt remained.

Sasuke kept his eyes at her; she was in front of him now. Something was wrong, and he clearly felt it. Was it because he was curious of the two pinkette's last conversation? Was it because he was still worried? Was it because he knew Sakura might be sad to leave a friend? Was it because...

His eyes narrowed at the girl's hand.

Why was she trembling?

Something popped into the prodigy's brain—Sakura's promise.

* * *

People crowded and filled the royal church. Noise and chattering with a mixture of clattering shoes and nervous voices, either from the maids or guests, of royalty or just has a high position in the society were the sounds that any human being can pinpoint in a special occasion such as this—especially a wedding.

The church was somewhere in the middle of the castle grounds, had the same size as Suzuna's palace, and could be occupied by almost half of the island's whole population. White walls were decorated with golden silk, flowers everywhere, long chairs shining from its recent cleaning. The hall was long, that it seemed endless from the main door's view.

The altar felt far, but she could clearly distinguish where Gisuke was, wearing the cleanest tuxedo, a color opposite from his evil personality. She squinted at the sight of him, emerald orbs narrowing in disgust and fear and anger.

Suzuna, their beautiful and angelic princess, was finally getting married. This was what everyone in the hall thought of as soon as they sat on their stools, waiting for the wedding bells to ring.

And when it did, all their eyes and happy faces turned to the giant wooden door, searching for the royal angel they've adored since her birth.

She wore a veil that wasn't too thick, enough for everyone, even Gisuke, to spot the pink hair she was born with. The untainted color of pure lilies surrounded her hair, her dress, the small bouquet in her tiny hands. The strapless gown showed her fair skin, making it obvious at how young and fragile the princess was. From the first second eyes were laid upon her, everyone inside the church concluded one thing:

Princess Suzuna looked perfect.

Except, for her, she wasn't.

The pinkette remembered the last time she checked the mirror from her room, eyeing every single detail of her reflection, reminding herself to stop her hands from ripping each fabric off of her skin. She sighed, and felt the crown of flowers being placed on her head by the maids that smiled as if it was the last time they were able to.

Apparently, it was the last time for her too.

Her memories went further back to a conversation with another pinkette, a mirror as well. They were both looking at each other, staring both into their own eyes; she could spot so many emotions in those green pupils of hers. The girl before her was sorry, and guilty, and just wanted to breakdown. But the bride told her to be strong, to be happy of where she was, to be thankful of her life.

The praise didn't work as much as she wanted to. But things don't always go according to plan—_if_ there ever was a plan to begin with anyway.

Her mind travelled further and further back to the team of shinobi, who she knew was almost out of the island. She remembered the silver-haired adult, the one named Kakashi. She remembered the blonde idiot Naruto that annoyed her through his loud voice, but a voice she would truly miss. Her brain flashed a dark color, black hair that made her smile. A resemblance of Takaaki, really.

Uchiha Sasuke. She was pretty sure he'd find happiness soon.

"I'm sorry." No one heard her.

A thump of her heartbeat woke her up into reality, blinking, trying to clear her sight and taking in the view of thousands and thousands of guests and visitors watching her every move. As soon as she took the first step, she no longer heard anything but her pounding chest, saw nothing but the altar that seemed like a mile away but felt like it was at arm's reach. She couldn't even appreciate the wedding bells, the pretty dresses and clothes the guests wore, the heavenly decors around the church.

The bride's eyes tried moving themselves, just to show to the audience of how happy she was. But even she did, it only felt wrong. How?

She couldn't smile. Not even a fake one.

The pinkette didn't know why; she was supposed to be a pro in making fake smiles. But just the thought of getting married to someone she wanted dead was enough to bring her to immeasurable fear, traumatizing to the point where she failed to make a proper expression.

Inside her mind, she prayed again—prayed that someone would save her from that situation. But she knew better.

And the moment her feet stopped, she blinked, realizing where she was. Her emerald orbs could measure the small distance between her and the altar. Her eyes rolled to her right, catching the sight of the man she was destined to spend the rest of her life with, in sickness, in terror, in nothing but lies and sorrow.

She took the hand he offered her, still wearing the cunning smirk on his face. For a second, she thought she'd find another rose from his other hand.

They both walked closer to the holy table before them, a priest smiling at them as if there was nothing wrong, as if he knew how happy the couple was, as if there was no tomorrow.

The priest started the ceremony. Inwardly, she smiled at how long the introduction was taking. At least she had to time breathe herself in calmness.

From the corner of her eyes, she eyed Gisuke, staring at how he dressed. He actually looked good in a suit, the streaks of his brown hair standing out too much. She then looked at his face, and invisibly thanked any god listening to her of how the veil covered half of her face, enough not to let the man beside her know she was looking at him. But it didn't completely comfort her—not one bit.

She then brought her eyes back to herself, looking down at the beautiful lilies in her hands. If the groom was someone she loved, she'd really agree to everyone telling her how lucky she was.

Yes. She would've been the happiest bride.

But she wasn't. Because she wasn't supposed to be marrying Gisuke. She wasn't supposed to be there, even. She wasn't supposed to be wearing that wonderful wedding gown, feeling like the royal bride she looked. She wasn't supposed to be afraid, or in sorrow, or in pain.

The priest signaled them to face each other. She didn't know why, because she didn't pay any attention anymore. She felt tears welling in her eyes, not because of happiness, or in anger, or anything else.

She felt sorry.

Because she didn't have the right to be standing in front of those royal guests and visitors, or in front of the happy priest. She didn't have the right to be today's lucky bride.

She closed her eyes and whispered to herself again.

"I'm sorry, Sasuke-kun..."

And there, she let one tear drop.

* * *

The sound of leaves continued to echo through their ears, but Sasuke gave no recognition to them. He didn't even concentrate on his surroundings anymore. Although he was still as alert and cautious as a ninja should be, his dark and angry eyes were stuck on pink hair.

He knew the port was getting nearer, but he had no intention of getting on board a ship until he knew what happened between his female teammate and the princess they escorted overnight.

"Sakura."

His voice was low, he knew. No one heard him, not Naruto, not Takaaki, not even Kakashi. But his eyes narrowed when he witnessed no reaction from this girl before him, as if she didn't even hear it when her distance from him was merely a heartbeat away.

"Sakura." He repeated, louder this time.

He was sure Kakashi heard him, because he saw the silver-haired man tilt his head only an inch to make sure that his students were alright. But the person he was trying to get attention from _still_ didn't turn her head around.

Sasuke wasn't mad, but something was boiling inside of him, something that made him more annoyed than he always did. He reached for her shoulder.

"Sakura." He wasn't even bothered when Naruto turned his head before the girl did.

His onyx eyes met her wide emerald ones, and there he saw two things: shock and fear.

He was about to ask her what was wrong, when he suddenly pushed her away as he jumped backwards. Naruto caught her just in time, and all of them followed the sound of a breaking bark of tree and saw a kunai on it.

The shinobi quickly grabbed their kunais and shuriken, as Kakashi ushered Takaaki to his back. Team 7 readied themselves for the attack, but Sasuke didn't fail to take look at Sakura.

She was trembling again. Visibly, this time.

The Uchiha's eyes widened once more as he witnessed this _abnormality_ that is Sakura. Why was she trembling? It was as if she never knew how to fight, or at least be ready for it. He wanted to shout at her again, but the enemies showed up and launched themselves at his team.

He heard her lightly scream before he shoved her backwards and formed a protective stance in front of her.

"Get back, Takaaki-san!" He heard Kakashi's voice.

They formed a circle, their backs facing each other. Sasuke activated his Sharingan; he knew Kakashi did too. There were at least fifteen people coming, excluding the ten in front of them. He recognized one of bandits though.

He had a scar on his face—he was one of Gisuke's companions.

"I knew it." He heard himself curse under his breath.

The rogues before them were smirking, as if they knew the ninjas were their last fight. But Sasuke knew their chakras, and knew nothing was going to kill him and his team. Except for the scar-faced man; he was the most powerful among his men, it was quite obvious why he was the leader.

The Uchiha's mind went into gear, and thought that if one of Gisuke's men were ordered to attack them, it only meant that something bad was bound to happen in the castle as well. And something unpleasant was waiting for the princess—who, unfortunately, was about to be wed to the wretched bastard himself.

Idiots, he inwardly scolded them. They could've just let them get out of the island peacefully.

Predictably, the scar-faced man's team attacked first, and it was quite easy for the shinobi. Kunais and shurikens flew all over the place, but Sasuke didn't use his Fire Technique—he still had mercy for the trees after all.

One by one, the enemies fell down as the scar-faced man charged after Kakashi. The Copy nin shouted at one of Naruto's Kage Bunshin to protect Takaaki, who unfortunately didn't have a weapon with him. Sasuke, however, couldn't let a certain pinkette out of his sight, or even a meter away from him.

Whenever the Uchiha fought, he had to be careful not to send someone at his back or even get them near her. In the middle of it all, he concluded that Sakura was not being herself. She was shaking behind him, leaning on a tree, her arms in front of her and no kunai in hand.

He kicked the last of his "share" of enemies—_well, that was boring—_and eyed his teammates, who were meters away from him. He spotted about seven or eight blonde Kage Bunshins everywhere, then he tried sensing more chakra. Yup, that was the last of them.

He looked at his right, and he knew Kakashi was winning against Gisuke's companion. It took longer than expected, but he didn't mind. He had to clarify something, and turned around to face the pinkette, her eyes closed, hands still trembling.

He felt Takaaki with a Kage Bunshin approach where they were.

Sasuke reached for Sakura again, not even bothered by how harsh he was grabbing her left hand. She could feel every piece of her skin trembling, shaking in extreme fear.

"What's wrong with you?"

She opened her tear-filled eyes, a sight familiar to the Uchiha. But it had been so long since he'd seen her cry, especially in a fight. This wasn't right at all.

"Sakura-chan? What's happening to you?"

"Why didn't you fight? This isn't like you at all, Sakura. You didn't even reach out for a weapon."

Sasuke stared at her emerald eyes, searching for an answer to his unvoiced questions. All he found out was that she was scared to her life, traumatized, as if she hadn't seen a fight before, as if she was never a ninja, as if this girl in front of him wasn't Sakura at all.

Wait. Hold up.

Something clicked into his head.

He continued to stare at the girl beneath him, trembling, begging to be released, and there he saw guilt in her eyes. Always guilt.

"I... I'm..." Her cracking voice revealed everything he was wanting to know. "I'm not..."

He felt Kakashi coming over to them; his fight must've been over already. Good for him.

"You're not Sakura." Sasuke muttered.

Takaaki gasped, either in shock or in fear, he didn't know. He knew his teammates' reactions were the same as the boy. Of course, who wouldn't be surprised? He had to congratulate the princess for being a great actress though. But her acting skills could only last for so long.

Sasuke had to slap himself too. How could he not recognize the chakra difference. Perhaps, he had to blame his annoying anxiety over the pink-haired girl. He swore once more that she'd get _more_ than a lecture from him.

"Wha-what do you mean she's not Sakura-chan?!" Naruto flailed his arms around.

"Are you saying she's...?" Takaaki barely breathed his sentence.

The prodigy narrowed his eyes once more at her, shifting them to the girl's right ear, spotting a tiny jewelry. He found his evidence there.

The girl he was currently holding was Suzuna.

"I'm... I'm sorry..." The princess bowed her head, finally letting her tears flow down to her face.

Suzuna kept sobbing, her face on her hands, head still lowered. Sasuke let her go and moved backwards, facing in a different direction. He heard Takaaki's footsteps slowly approach the pinkette, and he knew the mixed emotions the boy was feeling.

"Suzuna... Why?"

"Sakura-san said—"

And the mention of her name was enough to perk the team of shinobi's ears up. The Uchiha's head tilted, silently begging her to say anything.

"Sakura-san... Sakura-san said that she would keep her promise..." She sniffed. "Th-that she would do anything to keep her promise to me."

Sasuke gritted his teeth. He knew it all along. He just refused to believe.

"I told her not to, but she just didn't accept it..."

Every syllable felt like a numb stab of a knife at his chest, reminding him of how stupid he was, how careless and weak he was.

"I didn't know about the attack, but she did. And I didn't want to believe her... until now."

He closed his eyes and pictured the pink-haired idiot in his head. His fists clenched, knuckles slowly becoming white in frustration.

But wait. If Suzuna was here, then... Sakura was going to be wed.

Oh crap.

The image of having that brown-haired bastard beside her was enough to send him on his feet, completely ignoring his mentor's voice. He knew Kakashi had no choice but to follow him, and he knew the Copy nin also knew the situation at hand. After the attack, it was quite obvious that Gisuke had an evil scheme. It was either kill the shinobi, or kill the princess—or in this case, Sakura.

Most likely, it was both.

Sasuke ran for his life, for his teammates' lives, for Takaaki's, for Suzuna's, for this island.

He didn't want to leave the island knowing his female teammate was going to be killed by that sick man. And he definitely didn't want Sakura to be wed to anyone. The thought of Sakura wearing a wedding dress was something he was expecting soon, but the idea of having that sick wretched bastard that is Gisuke as her groom was something he'd kill himself for.

He was probably regretting not burning the prince earlier when he had the chance.

And the moment he saw the castle's door, he knew he had only one purpose of living:

Sakura's life.

* * *

**OMG HAHAHAHAHAHA The climax is finally coming! Hurrah! Hazza! Woot woot.**

**Okay, I'm humiliating myself now. Hahaha. I'm sorry. I was just excited in writing this. But I failed at the fight scenes. Sorry again. LOL. But to be honest, I'm happy about this chapter. It might've been easily predicted that the two pinkies were going to be switched. But I gave this plot a chance. So yeah, thanks for reading. And sorry if I haven't given so much moments for SasuSaku in this fic. I'm just having a hard time. But I promise you, there will be a bit fluff between them after everything. Wahaha, spoiler alert much. Sorry.**

**So, yeah. I wanted to ask everyone what they think about the manga this week? Isn't Kishi-sensei very confusing? Haha. Oh well, let's all hail the mighty Troll King that is Kishimoto Masashi. Cheers.**

**Been having trouble about school enrollment this week though. Not that anyone cares. LOL.**

**Next chapter, next week. That's a real promise. I'm actually excited writing about it. I'm not sure if it's the last chapter, but I'm sure I'll be able to finish it before exactly 7 days after.**

**REVIEWS please? Thanks so so so much. Mwah mwah x**


	8. Echo

**EDIT 072013: I just noticed after rereading this, I have written the phrase "Oh crap" in two consecutive chapters. At the same place too. Haha. If this was rated M, my curses would be more. Oh well, haha.**

**Corrected a few typos. No major changes, yada yada yada. Notes are also untouched. ENJOY!**

* * *

**(a/n:) Chapter 4 was my favorite in this fanfic, but maybe this'll top my list. I dunno. Haha. Pretty much, a random thought. Which one's yours? Hope you enjoy this chapter!**

**Oh, and by the way, I haven't been to many weddings as much as I want to. Just once. So I really have no idea how a real wedding goes. So bear with me again. LOL.**

* * *

CHAPTER 8: ECHO

* * *

Suzuna stared at the girl before her, a nervous yet confident smile on her face. She couldn't reflect that smile; it was the only thing that broke the reflection.

The princess blinked twice, as her heart skipped a beat after hearing the ninja's words.

"What"—she managed to speak, stuttering—"do you mean?"

"It's just as I said..."

The pinkette across her clenched their hands more, smiling more, opening her emeralds wider than ever.

"When I make a promise, I _keep_ it."

Suzuna still didn't know what Sakura was saying. A part of her told her that she should be thankful, that she should give the biggest gratitude she could ever do. But a tiny tug in her heart denied every word the kunoichi said, refusing it, declining it. Because if she didn't, she might regret it in the end.

But everything that was happening was already something she knew she'd regret.

"I don't understand." The bride shook her head, tilting it downwards to look at their joined hands.

"I promised you happiness, Suzuna. And I'm going to keep it, _whatever_ it takes."

She heard the greatest courage and power in the kunoichi's voice. But somewhere was the tiniest fear and guilt. As if Sakura still had doubt in her abilities to grant her promise. As if she was about to do the stupidest thing in history. As if the phrase "whatever it takes" was something she was proud to have said, but scared to do.

Suddenly, a thought hit Suzuna. And somehow, she didn't like it.

She raised her head to look at Sakura.

"What are you trying to say?" It barely registered in her mind that her voice was still inaudible for a normal person—which Sakura wasn't.

The ninja pinkette stared at her for an eternity of seconds, still wearing that bittersweet smile, that smile that almost killed her, before answering.

"Suzuna... Do you really want to get married?"

Said princess twitched in Sakura's hands, trying to keep the fast heartbeat in her chest a secret. What the mirror before her said, at least what she thought she was trying to imply, was the truth—she didn't want to get married. She was twenty-one years old, but she wasn't ready for this kind of commitment. Although she became the main ruler of the Crescent Island at a young age, marriage was a totally different kind of responsibility.

All her life, she thought of her people's lives and welfare. But once she gets married, she'd be thinking of more things. She'd become more than a queen—she would turn into a wife and a mother. And when the time comes, the time when she'd have a new surname, she'd have a family of her own. The more she thought about it, she finally learned that after the ceremony, she'd be finally given a right to think of her own future as well.

Plus, spending her forever with Gisuke was something she didn't want to happen. Ever.

Slowly, with her guilt eating her up, Suzuna shook her head in shame. At least, she was being honest.

"I'm sorry." She whispered.

"Don't be." She heard Sakura, and she could still feel the broken smile from her voice.

Then, she felt a hand on her chin, forcing her to look back at the same emerald orbs she has.

"You don't need to do this all by yourself. You're happier with Takaaki."

The princess blinked, fear gradually creeping back to her mind.

"Suzuna, I want you to be happy. And I'm going to do _anything_ for you to be happy."

"...What are you going to do?"

It was then Sakura broke her long gaze, closing her eyes and looking at a different direction. But Suzuna could still spot the overwhelming emotions in her eyes, so _overwhelming_ she had a difficult time naming each of them. But she managed to identify one—guilt.

"Suzuna."

"Y-yes?"

They both stared at their reflections again. Both of them knew how alike their faces were, how their eyes shimmered the same green color, how weird yet amazingly pink their hair were, how tall they were, how nothing and no one at that point could tell who is who once they wear the same clothes.

"Do you trust me?"

And both of them knew what Sakura was going to do was the greatest risk in both of their lives.

Suzuna nodded, silently surrendering. There was nothing she could do anymore but give her life to this girl before her. Because she knew she was going to lose.

Sakura smiled one last time.

"Then trust me when I say: 'let me be you'."

* * *

The current bride smiled behind her white veil, remembering the events earlier, as if it didn't happen the same morning, as if it didn't happen at the same day, as if it was all just a terrible dream, an illusion, a lie.

She closed her eyes, letting that single tear dry on her cheek, still grateful of the veil—that was thick enough to cover her eyes yet thin enough for her to see the groom—on her head, wearing the most bittersweet smile she ever had, wishing that everything really was just a _dream_.

Too bad, it wasn't.

Sakura didn't have the right to blame Suzuna for this. After all, it was herself who asked for them to switch places. Despite the light pleadings and defenses the princess gave her, the kunoichi was just as stubborn as she said she was.

So Suzuna had no choice when Sakura stole her lilies from her. Or when she practically ripped the gown out of her, or took her white veil, her white shoes, or even stole her identity. She recalled the way they were a little stunned to find out that not only did they have the same face and height, but they had close measurements. Wearing the gown was easy, just as Suzuna was comfortable wearing her ninja clothes.

They were _exact replicas_ of each other.

But Sakura made a mental note to herself again, that if ever she survives this whole ruckus, she'd go and apologize to the princess, and Takaaki. She might've used him to bribe Suzuna.

Oh, well. It was now or never.

She heard the priest ask them something she didn't exactly hear. She was a bit busy sorting out her future plans and whatnot. But her feet made her turn to face Gisuke, tilting her head upwards to directly look at him.

Never had she wanted to punch someone in the face so badly.

The man before her, posing as a prince—a _fake_ prince—grinned at her like a sly idiot. She couldn't tell what emotions were running in his head, what thoughts he was currently thinking about; she didn't even mind the idea of him not appreciating how beautiful she looked. All she knew was, for sure, the most confident she had been, was that this wretched man was happy in the evilest way she could imagine.

Why wouldn't he? He was moments away from becoming King of not one, but two islands. He was going to be ruler of both places, giving commands to every being, creating chaos whenever he wanted, turning himself into the most powerful person, at least in the Kingdom. And for his bonus, he was going to rule the islands by himself. Because he would willingly kill his bride.

And in this case, he was going to kill Sakura.

But despite the thought of dying after a few more hours, it didn't completely scare her. It actually felt more relieving than she thought. Even for just a single second in her life, stealing someone's identity was worth saving Suzuna.

Yes, marrying this bastard was worth it. Not only did she save the princess's life, but Suzuna was going to be happy with the person she loves.

"Now, the exchanging of vows." The old happy priest announced.

At that point, she was glad that Suzuna agreed not to make her own vow as Gisuke asked her not to. The bastard must've been really desperate to get the wedding done, not that she was surprised. And the idea of Suzuna making a wedding vow for this brown-haired fool was something she might not be able to handle well.

"Repeat after me, then." The old man continued, with a smile of no falter.

So they both listened. As well as the whole church did. At least, that was what Sakura thought.

Gisuke started first, while repeating every word the preacher said.

"I, Gisuke Moshimo, take you,"—his eyes shimmered at a split second, Sakura noticed as he gripped her hands tighter—"my dear princess Suzuna, to be my wife and Queen, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love you and to cherish you; from this day forward until death do us part."

She heard the sighs and soft voices from the people behind them, awed at the scene before them. How clueless they were, she thought to herself.

Then it was her turn. She repeated everything he said, with the exception of her name and the way she called him—just a simple word: husband. How the words left a bitter taste in her mouth.

"...until death do us part."

It all felt like the last breath for her, like she had difficulty gasping for air but no one noticed. She wanted to die right then, but just wouldn't happen. It took a lot for her to stand there and just be alive. Even if she was simply posing as Suzuna, it still felt so wrong, that whenever she'd look forward and see who the groom was, some part of her wanted to punch him, but a small voice in her head cried.

Gisuke kept smirking at her, reminding her of a boy who smirked better, a boy that she was sure was going to kill her once he finds out, though she didn't why the idea came.

It wasn't like Sasuke cared if she got married to someone else... right?

Snapping back to reality, it was time to exchange rings. The rings were gorgeous, needless to say. Both of them shimmered silver, Sakura could picture how Suzuna's parents wanted things to be as simple as they could—except for the wedding, maybe. She eyed the ring, spotting the words "forever" in it. The sight moved her, being the sentimental and hopeless romantic she'd always been.

But her forever wouldn't last as long as she hoped. She knew.

She felt Gisuke on her left hand, the ring an inch away from her fourth finger.

"With this ring, I thee wed, and with it, I bestow upon thee all the treasures of my mind, heart, and hands."

The rings fit perfectly, as she stared at it with the littlest awe. It felt wonderful wearing a ring on that special finger. But her heart kept breaking, because it was only then that she knew what Suzuna felt marrying this man. The feeling of guilt and regret was sinking in, and was eating her insides to death.

She raised her head once more to look at Gisuke. If he was just a different man, it wouldn't be bad to marry him. The only reason why she was doing this was to save Suzuna from being murdered. Even though she knew she couldn't save the Kingdom, at least she knew Suzuna would be happy with Takaaki. But things don't always go how you want it.

"Moshimo Gisuke-sama,"—Sakura blinked, hearing the priest's voice—"do you take this woman to be your wedded wife? Do you promise to love her, comfort her, honor and keep her from sickness and in health, remaining faithful to her as long as you both shall live?"

Gisuke smirked.

"I do."

Sakura blinked the tears away, her heart beating fast and threatening to jump out of her chest.

"And do you, Haruki Suzuna-sama, take this man to be your wedded husband? Do you promise to love him, comfort him, honor and keep him in sickness and in health, remaining faithful to him as long as you both shall live?"

To hear such words were something she expected to hear someday, in a small lovely church, with a few people as guests, her mentors, her friends, her batchmates, her family. She'd hold a small bouquet arranged by Ino, and have her gown worn with the help of her other kunoichi friends. She'd walk through a short path of pink petals. She'd see Kakashi-sensei somewhere, with no porno in his hand, but an invisible smile she knew he was wearing. She'd look forward and see a blonde idiot who wore his ever blinding smile, standing like a good boy beside her groom—the boy, the man, the person who she'd wanted to spend the rest of her life with ever since she knew him. He would reach for her hand, smirk in place, but an indescribable joy in his onyx eyes. They'd look at each other, a few tears slipping from her eyes, never breaking the loving gaze. She would hear Tsunade, proud as she could be, tell them the wonderful things that would make her heart flutter. She'd hear him say his "I do" with no hesitation. And in return, she'd answer:

"_I do, Sasuke-kun. I do."_

But it was all impossible now, now that those words can never be said to the only person who she gave her heart to.

All the hopes, all the wishes, and all the dreams she wanted was all going to fade with two words. And she was going to risk everything she wanted to save a friend.

"Suzuna-sama?" The priest asked, thinking she might have not heard him.

Sakura closed her eyes and took a breath, a deep inhale to calm her barely alive heartbeat. But no matter what she did, she knew she'd want to die then and there. To live without letting a certain Uchiha know of her true feelings were something she was able to bear. But after this, she knew she can never apologize enough to him, if ever.

_If ever._

Because her eyes were closed, she didn't notice the rising impatience of her groom, as he gritted his teeth behind a closed mouth, trying to calm himself as well. He couldn't take it anymore; he wanted this done and over with so he could be King and be able to rule the island all by himself, right after he "takes care" of his Queen, of course.

He slowly raised his hand, and gripped Sakura's arm, which caused her eyes to snap open in shock, in fear and in anger once the scene registered into her mind. She glared at him, and saw how he couldn't wait any longer.

"My dear, dear, Suzuna..." She could see how tight his mouth was from containing his loud voice. "Are you going to answer or not?"

There was so much controlled fury in his voice, each word growing more intense.

"Princess, _do_ you take him as your husband?" The priest whispered, clueless of the painful grasp on her arm.

Sakura closed her eyes once more and counted for five whole seconds.

Then sighed.

"I..." She opened her emerald orbs, and let her tears spill. "I d—"

And for a split second, she thought for sure her breath was stolen away.

* * *

A few scratches from sharp leaves and twigs and small branches didn't stop him from running. His teammates kept shouting his name, telling him to wait for them, but he kept going. He didn't have time to wait for his team despite the knowledge that they'd also want to save their pink-haired teammate.

It wasn't his fault that they were slowpokes.

Sasuke didn't have time to wait for a plan either. He already had one, even if it was a little fuzzy—which was just to run and stop the wedding, and burn the arrogant bastard.

Dead or alive, it didn't matter at the point.

Having the Sharingan activated made him see a few more company from Gisuke's army, also running towards his direction. The moment he saw them, he simply jumped at their heads and continued on his escape to save an idiotic bride.

"Oi, Sasuke-teme! Get back here, ya bastard!"

He had to let his teammates fight for him, no matter how hard it was for his pride. He didn't need to fight those weaklings to prove anything. Not now, at least, because he had a better priority than to boost his reputation in beating more rogue nins than Naruto.

He kept running, and pushed away any person, an enemy or not, blocking his path. His dark eyes saw the giant wooden door of the church, wishing he could burn the whole thing then and there so his entrance would be easier. The more he got nearer, the angrier he was getting, not only to the flirty prince, not only to the pink-haired princess who fooled them earlier, not only to the idiot pinkette kunoichi who kept this all to herself, but also, most especially, to himself.

He had doubts. He had questions running in his head. He could hear his gut telling him to run after his female teammate the moment she was acting suspicious.

But he didn't do anything. And he hated himself for that.

The second he knew he was a breath away from the door, his mind went blank. The thought of leaving Takaaki and Suzuna in the middle of the forest, his teammates fighting the weak soldiers he left for them, the people running around behind him that didn't have a clue of what was going on, the royal guards he knocked out for just a second and left them unconscious somewhere he didn't know, the clueless guests and visitors inside that would surely be shocked at his entrance, all of those things faded from his head.

All but one.

He gritted his teeth and, with all his pent up strength, forcefully opened—more like _pushed—_the stupid door and jumped right in, and expected the worst, but had a single statement shouting inside his brain:

"_Sakura, you better not be married by now!"_

* * *

She felt every single pair of eyes on her, their ears perked up, confused at the sudden delay of her answer. She knew Gisuke was still glaring at her, his patience growing thin, his grip getting tighter on her arm.

She opened her eyes, letting her tears escape. This was her final goodbye.

"...I d—"

Except it wasn't.

The door that felt like a mile away suddenly burst open, slamming through the hard walls of the church. People panicked and snapped their heads towards the alarming sound's direction. Sakura and Gisuke also turned their gaze on the unexpected happening, and there she saw a person she never thought she'd see at that moment.

"Stop the wedding!" Sasuke shouted, his angry black eyes at them.

His voice echoed inside the church and filled everyone's ears, including hers. In fact, the sight of him just standing there, about to run, made her blind of anything except him. Her face slowly lit up in joy and relief. She managed to free herself from the prince's grip and began to run towards Sasuke's direction. She had difficulty holding the white gown but it didn't matter. All that she cared about was the sound of her fast heartbeat, her vision blurry yet clear of the Uchiha's face, and the fact that she knew he ran for his life to stop the wedding, to save her and get out of the island alive.

The church's audience gasped in horror, in fear, in confusion, and in all the kinds of emotions she didn't dare to know. She heard a voice order the guards inside to block Sasuke and take him away. But as she continued to run, she saw him kick them as if they were the simplest challenge against his fighting skills.

Sasuke began to run towards her as well, as if his life depended on it. But more guards began to swarm around him. Although it was quite easy and a bit ridiculous at first, they were piling on his path. They had spears and swords, giving them a little advantage. He kept reaching out to Sakura, like she was only a feet away from him.

He extended his arm to her, his hand open wide. The pinkette began to reach for him too, and knew she was getting closer to him.

But just as their hands almost made contact, Sakura's eyes widened at the tight grasp of a person's arm around her waist, stopping her on her heels. She twisted her head, only to find the fearful face of her groom, wearing the scariest expression she had ever seen from him. From the corner of her eyes, she saw Sasuke being held by the enormous amount of guards, and there she realized they weren't all royal guards. Most of them were under Gisuke's control.

"Sasuke-kun!"

Sakura kept screaming her teammate's name, shaking and squirming, hoping to be able to at least get out of Gisuke's grip. But he was just too strong. He started to pull her away from the Uchiha. She could hear his voice commanding his men to hold the intruder and kill him. As her eyes kept themselves on Sasuke, who was still having a hard time around the guards, it was only then she noticed the people around them running around, panic in their faces.

She felt a bit pity towards them, because they didn't know what was happening. They didn't expect this at all when they got to this beautiful church. They didn't even know that the bride they were seeing wasn't the princess they thought of.

Sakura squinted her eyes in pain; Gisuke's grip was getting tighter, making it hard for her to breath. He dragged her into a place she didn't know. She didn't even realize this bastard managed to bring themselves into Suzuna's room. She didn't know how, but it didn't matter.

She had to fight this imposter of a prince no matter what it takes.

The brown-haired man threw her on the carpeted floor of Suzuna's room, then locked the door. He turned to her with a sly grin, yet there was still fury in his eyes.

"You..." He breathed out, anger evident in his voice.

Sakura managed to sit up, but still had difficulty in breathing. She eyed the gown for a second and thought of something—she had to rip the dress to be able to fight this man.

So she did, and stood up.

"Hah, I won't let you get away, my princess." Gisuke's voice was like the screeching sound of chalk on board.

Sakura shivered in fear, taking slow steps backward, away from the sick maniac. Gisuke, in return, had his hands in the air, ready to grip her once again, inching closer to her.

"I won't let my plans be screwed by a bunch of weak ninjas." One step forward. "We _will_ get married, and I _will_ be King." Another step. Sakura backed away more.

As fast as Gisuke was when he tried to hold her, she managed to dodge his hand and hurriedly ran to a wall, somewhere far from him. But he kept walking slowly, creeping towards her, one step at a time.

"I won't let anybody get in my way. I've waited for this moment for too long."

Sakura leaned her back against the wall, wishing the cement could swallow her. But she knew it was impossible. Her hands automatically reached to her thigh, only to realize that she didn't have her kunai holster. In fact, she didn't even have a single weapon with her.

Oh crap.

"Let me guess." Gisuke took one step again, making her jump in fear. "You're not Suzuna, aren't you?"

Sakura gritted her teeth, and noticed that he was exactly two feet away from her.

"My, my. You had me fooled there." His voice was really unbearable. "Sakura-chan, isn't it? Well, it isn't bad marrying a beauty like you. But it doesn't matter now, does it? Because after all of this..."

Her eyes caught sight of his incoming hand.

"I still have to kill you!"

* * *

**Wahey, woot woot! This chapter definitely is my favorite. I don't exactly know why, but when this story came into my mind, I knew this part of the story was the best for me. But I guess it depends on you, readers, if you agree. Haha.**

**I apologize, once again, for the lack of dialogue. And for the fight scenes. And for the dull wedding scene. I honestly took 2 whole days to write the wedding, because I had to search everywhere in the internet about how it goes and what the vows were and the necessary things. I was sort of embarrassed when I asked my mom, but turns out she doesn't remember too. Hahaha. Well, it's been twenty years since her wedding, so, umm... yeah.**

**Just a statement I wanna make, this chapter was really dedicated on how Sasuke and Sakura's feelings were to each other. I had a hard time on Sasuke's, but I enjoyed writing his short moment. I especially loved writing Sakura's imaginative wedding day. Hohoho, fangirling.**

**But I'm kinda disappointed that I didn't put the whole climax here, so I had to cut it. Don't worry, there won't be any flashbacks and whatnot on the next chapter. In fact, the first scene will just be the continuation of Gisuke and Sakura. Don't worry, he won't rape her or anything.**

**Oh, and I probably suggest that you guys keep that Homura guy from the chapter 6 in mind. He's quite important for the ending of this fanfic. Mehehe.**

**Disclaimer: I take no credit for the wedding vows and speeches. Yeah, just said that before anybody gets mad at me.**

**So that's about it. Thanks for reading. Reviewsss?**


	9. Courage

**EDIT 072013: I just noticed that this is the third chapter I'm rereading -slash- correcting in one day. And I'll be rereading the last chapter as well. Hah. Yes. Oh yes. I obviously have free time today. Haha.**

**Same old, same old. No major changes. Notes stay the same. Corrected few typos. Bah.**

* * *

**(a/n:) So I probably have to warn you guys again that I'm not good at fight scenes. Like literally. I really, really suck at writing them. So, sorry. Again. I didn't actually think that I'd get into this kind of situation, sooo... Yeah.**

**Enjoy! Hahaha.**

* * *

CHAPTER 9: COURAGE

* * *

Of all the times she had been a ninja, now was the time she was _actually_ thankful she was one.

As Gisuke started to dart his hand towards her arm, she easily dodged it and went under his arm to run to the door. The thought of Sasuke fighting by himself against an army was something she didn't want to think about. Where the hell were her teammates? And what about Suzuna and Takaaki?

_Dammit... Suzuna!_

But her thoughts were broken from the sudden grip on her arm—there was probably a bruise there by now—which caused her to fall on the carpet again.

"Oh, I won't let you get away, my princess Sakura-_chan_!"

He really looked disgusting at her point of view, her eyes narrowing at him for a split second before kicking her foot directly on his face. One good point for her. She hurriedly stood up, only to realize that the room was freaking huge and her gown, despite being ripped into half, still weighed a lot more than her ninja clothes. Oh great.

She was almost at the door, her hand inches away from the doorknob, her heart beating louder than ever. She could hear chaos everywhere, outside the room, outside the castle. She was beyond feeling too much adrenaline today.

"Gotcha!"

And this son of a devil just got his hands on her again; she cursed loudly. But she wasn't going to give up, not without a fight.

"Get your _filthy_ hands"—she wiggled herself from his iron arms—"away from me!" Then her knee met his crotch.

Good one, Sakura.

She ran again, away from the door, away from the figure of a man in pain. She looked around the room to find an alternative exit. There was a door, but it only contained a giant bathroom, and she was sure its windows were as small as her foot. Then her head whipped to a direction, where she saw a pair of giant curtains—how the hell did she miss that?!

She turned her head to Gisuke, who was unfortunately slowly gaining his composure and had his furious eyes on her. She flinched at his glare, and started to run towards the twin curtains. She opened them and met the lovely bright sun above the wide green forest, where she knew her "twin" princess was along with Takaaki.

"Why... you..." She heard a groan, and it came from Gisuke.

She turned to him again, before looking back to huge window before her. This wasn't the kind of escape she wanted, but it was worth a shot. Although it was going to hurt, she had to try. So, as soon as she could hear slow footsteps behind her, she gathered her chakra on her right fist and slammed the window.

And goodness gracious, it was _thick!_

Sakura groaned in pain, clutching her excruciating hand. It really did hurt! Beyond unbearable. But the bright side was, she managed to make a big crack on the glass. One more punch and she was sure she could make her escape. So she gathered once more, on her left hand this time, and aimed for a direct hit on the biggest crack.

But her luck went down as her hand was taken again, and she was whipped around to face Gisuke, her eyes widened in shock and anger.

"Let go!"

That's it. She officially hated wearing wedding gowns.

Both of Gisuke's hands were on hers, her right hand slowly bleeding from his grip. And to add more to her pain, he gripped tighter, causing her to scream. Never had she been scared and angry at the same time.

The brown-haired man pushed her against the glass window, clasping her small neck; she could hear a few cracking sounds from the force.

"You think you're stronger than me, little girl?" She shivered as she felt his breath on her face. "You may be a ninja, but you're just a girl. And you ain't got any weapons!"

Then he gripped her right hand once more, and _god_, it hurt like _hell_. Despite having difficulty, she shouted, somehow hoping that someone, _anyone_, would come burst at the door and save her. Or at least shove him away from her, so she'd be the one to punch him.

For a split second, just as she was almost losing her hope, the door _did_ slam open and revealed a man she didn't think was supposed to be there.

"Let go of her, Gisuke!"

What the hell was Takaaki doing here?

"My, my. Another guest, I see." From the corner of her eyes, she saw his sickening smirk before he turned his head to look at the boy, holding his shining sword.

There, by the door, stood Takaaki, with all his mustered courage and strength. His eyes glowed in anger and frustration, regret and relief; his eyes may have been as black as Sasuke's, but never had Sakura seen so much determination in someone like Takaaki before.

Gisuke still had his hands on her, but she could feel his grip slowly weakening—it was a chance to escape. But the bastard felt her and instantly snapped his eyes back to her, growling like the sickest man alive.

"Oh no, you're not." His sly voice crept out of his mouth.

"Didn't you hear, Gisuke? Let. Her. Go."

And that voice, made Sakura's heart skip a beat. A long beat.

The kunoichi's eyes were wide, travelled just above Gisuke's shoulder, giving her a view of the open door. She wished, and desperately hoped, that the voice was just an imagination. But beside Takaaki, his face still holding its courageous emotion, stood a girl she didn't want to see at all. She met matching emerald orbs, filled with anger with a tint of fear. But nonetheless, she was there, still wearing the ninja clothes that made her look like someone else, as determined as her guardian.

"It's me you want; I'm here." Suzuna took a step forward from Takaaki's side. "Now let Sakura-san go."

"S-Suzuna... No..." Sakura managed to choke out.

"I'll do what you want. I'll marry you, and you'll be King." The princess took another step. "...Isn't that what you desire?"

The royal pinkette didn't see his evil smirk. But Sakura did. She kept choking, trying to breath, barely able to fight with Gisuke's hand on her neck and her bleeding hand. But her eyes were still crystal clear, and she knew he was slowly enjoying the moment. She knew he was enjoying Suzuna's surrender. She knew he could finally taste his dream of becoming King.

"And... I'm willing to give up my title as Queen so you can have the Kingdom all to yourself."

And that gave him the last push.

Gisuke quickly released Sakura. She fell on floor, holding her neck, coughing for the sudden air finally entering her lungs. Her right hand was still in pain, but as soon as she recovered herself, she whipped her head upwards to look at the retreating "prince", approaching Suzuna who still had her strongest emotion in hand. Takaaki was still there, standing like the man he should. But his courage was slowly dying, and she knew why.

The second Sakura was able to stand up, her ears perked up and heard fast footsteps coming towards the room's direction. She noticed Gisuke stopped on his tracks, which meant he might've heard the sound as well. Takaaki and Suzuna blinked in confusion, but Sakura knew this was a new kind of trouble.

Gisuke's eyes glared at them. He might've thought the footsteps were reinforcements.

"Takaaki, Suzuna, get down!"

And he was right.

Sakura shouted the command, because she knew the sound of an incoming kunai. Thankfully, the two quickly complied and two kunais went flying inside the room, hitting straight at Gisuke. She heard him shout in pain, and fell on the ground. He was still alive though, but Sakura took the chance to run towards her "twin".

But even before she got close to them, her eyes found a pair of black ones and knew he was fast approaching.

"Sakura!" Sasuke shouted, either in relief or annoyance she didn't know. But she was glad he was okay.

But he wasn't running to get to the room and save her along with Takaaki and Suzuna. He was running to get her out. Right _now_.

"Sasuke-kun, Gisuke is—"

"I know, you idiot!"

He flashed an annoyed glare at her, different from the angry one he always wore. Which was why she almost choked her heart out as Sasuke quickly reached for her back and her knees and started to carry her bridal-style, ironically. And what frustrated Sakura more, was that it didn't look like a big deal for him.

The nerve of him.

"S... S-Sasuke-kun?!" She stuttered, because really, _honestly_, this was the first time he did this to her. "Wha-what are you d—"

"I'm getting you out of here, idiot." He continued to glare at her, his adorable yet annoyed face a few inches away from her.

"Wha... W-wait, what?!" Sakura's eyes widened as she felt the movement of her teammate, walking fast towards the giant cracked window. "But what about Suzuna? And Takaaki? And Naruto and Kakashi-sensei? Sasuke-kun, Gisuke's still—"

"That's why I'm getting _you_ out of this place, safe and alive!" He was running at this point, his chakra slowly gathering at his feet.

"But Sasuke-kun—"

But the Uchiha didn't give her a chance to speak anymore as he rushed towards the window, thankful that there was already a big crack on the glass. As he jumped at it, Sakura closed her eyes but couldn't let it stay closed and, instead, looked at the remaining figures behind them—at least, behind Sasuke. She heard the shattering of glass as she and her black-haired teammate escaped from the castle, out of Suzuna's room and landed on the forest.

She couldn't get a certain image out of her mind. She was in too much shock to even make a word, so she screamed Suzuna's name. Because as soon as she heard the window break, she witnessed Gisuke's body standing up and, even though she didn't see it all, she knew the bastard was going after the princess. And she knew she was defenseless despite Takaaki by her side.

When they landed on the forest ground, Sakura took her chance before the Uchiha did anything against her will.

"Sasuke-kun. Suzuna is still in there, and Takaaki too! Gisuke is still alive! We have to go back and—"

"No, Sakura." His velvet voice matched his annoyance and anger, but with a hint of panic—that, again, made Sakura confused inside.

"But—"

"NO! _I_ will go back and fight, with Naruto and Kakashi. _You_ will stay _here_ and head to the port." He put her down slowly as he readied himself to sprint back to the castle.

"But, Sasuke-ku—"

"I said _no_, Sakura! Now go to the port and don't get yourself in trouble."

What was with people cutting her sentences these days? This was quite annoying for Sakura too, if he only knew. It was slowly getting on her nerves. Not only did he cut her, but he's practically implying that she couldn't fight off Gisuke's men, that she was weak, and that she'd only get in the way. She wasn't weak!

Hell no, she wasn't.

And just as Sasuke was about to jump off, it was her turn to stop him. Or at least, give him a piece of her mind.

"Uchiha Sasuke!"

His eyebrow twitched. She never called him by his full name. Good thing he had his back face to her.

"You will not treat me the way you did seconds ago, do you hear me? I am not going to stay here and go to the port by myself." She practically shouted at the Uchiha symbol with her hands on her hips. "And I certainly am not _weak_, for your information!"

She heard him "tch"-ed.

"Sakura,"—he turned to look at her, pissed as ever—"don't annoy me. You've done enough."

"Annoy you? Done enough? I _obviously_ abandoned a friend there, and she's probably in more danger than before if you didn't carry me out here!"

"Sakura—"

"No, Uchiha. You are not going to leave me here and treat me like I'm the weakest in our team!"

"Sakura... I didn't say you were weak..." The boy muttered as he gazed at her.

Sasuke didn't even notice until now how different Sakura looked wearing a wedding gown—well, at least, what's left of it anyway.

Despite the fact that the dress was poorly ripped into half, she looked... _pretty_. Beautiful, even. The clothing showed a fair amount of skin on the top part, her perfect shoulders and collarbone, her neck that no one seemed to notice to be a great asset of hers. A few traces of lily petals on her hair made her look more angelic than ever. And even though she had that cute angry expression on her face, her light make-up just made her the most perfect bride he'd ever seen. Not to mention how supple and kissable her lips were at the moment.

"If I'm not as weak as you say, then don't leave me here feeling guilty."

"...Sakura." He sighed, probably in silent defeat.

It took a moment for Sasuke to assess what the hell was happening around them. There was total chaos right behind him, where the castle was, where their teammates were, where the princess and her supposedly lover were, where the bastard Gisuke was, where people he didn't care about were panicking for their lives.

And then there were the two of them, standing in the middle of a forest. Both ninjas from the same village, from the same team. He stood there, face to her, looking at her. It finally registered in his mind that Sakura's somewhat angry face was slowly fading into a desperate one—the kind that's desperate to save someone important.

"Sasuke-kun..." She took a step forward, closer to him. "Please, let me go there too. Let me save Suzuna."

Sasuke sighed, closing his eyes. He felt a tug on his left sleeve, causing him to open his eyes, only to see that his sleeve was being held by her bleeding right hand. He felt a bit guilty, not knowing how that happened, probably from her fight with Gisuke. So he looked up and stared at her pleading green eyes. He also noticed that her neck wasn't as fair as he thought it was. Spotting finger marks on her skin made his blood boil more—he was definitely going to kill that man.

They both continued to stare at each other. It didn't seem uncomfortable, considering the situation they were in.

"Please, Sasuke-kun..." She gripped his shirt tighter, the pain of her hand no longer there. "Let me, at least, keep my promise to her."

And that single statement was the only thing that defeated the great Sasuke Uchiha.

* * *

The moment her emerald eyes opened, she knew the fight wasn't over yet.

Suzuna heard the crashing sound, which told her that the Uchiha actually managed to break the window and get his female teammate safe outside. Good for him, she inwardly smiled.

But things weren't as great as she wanted them to be, as she looked at the boy beside her, also looking at her with the same apologetic face she knew so well. She knew what his eyes were telling her. Because she knew it reflected the same thing her eyes said too.

"_I won't leave you."_

Despite the fact that she already proclaimed for the gods to hear that she would willingly marry Gisuke, make him King and give up her title for him to have the Kingdom all to himself, she knew that she didn't want to leave the island. Not to the hands of this wretched man. She was still the Queen, and if this man wanted the islands her parents left her, then she wasn't going to give up that easily.

Sakura's role was done. Now, it was her turn to fight.

But just split second after she turned her head to face the fake prince, who was supposedly lying on her carpet floor, he was already standing a few feet away from them, his hand clutching his bleeding abdomen. How pitiful the white suit looked with blood stained on it. He was in pain, obviously, as he slowly walked towards her with that insane expression in his face. So this was the true evil man Gisuke was.

As he advanced to her direction, a flash of black appeared in front of her, only to register in her mind that Takaaki was now standing in between her and Gisuke.

"Don't come near her!" She heard him, shouting, his sword in his hands.

Gisuke's eyes twitched, and it shivered her to the bone to see some much fury and evil in his eyes. The desire to be King, to rule the islands, to _kill her_, everything about him seemed so impossible to happen in real life. He was _so_ desperate.

And when she thought it couldn't get worse, Gisuke moved faster than light as he attacked the boy she loved with a long dagger hidden behind him. It was so fast, no one anticipated it—not even Takaaki.

So fast, Suzuna didn't even realize that she was pushed farther from them.

She recovered, her limp figure leaning on her elbows, only to witness a horrific scene between the two men. A few meters away from her, was Takaaki on his back, a pained expression in his face. Gisuke was on top of him, strangling his neck with his elbow, and on his other hand was his dagger, stabbing her lover's stomach. And its blood was staining the carpet.

"I guess I have to finish you first." The bastard said, pushing his elbow harder on the boy's neck.

Panic filled Suzuna, paralyzed with intense fear.

"You always have been quite annoying, a _pain_ to look at." He chuckled after Takaaki coughed. "You don't have the right to be Suzuna's guardian if you can't even fight me."

Then he stabbed Takaaki more, causing him to scream. And it woke Suzuna back, thank goodness. But there wasn't time to celebrate it, as her heartbeat continued to deafen her ears, as her head continued to formulate a way to rescue Takaaki. She kept blinking as tears slowly formed into her green eyes, until her head snapped upwards to look the black-haired boy. He screamed again, and there she saw that Gisuke's dagger was getting deeper.

She scanned the room, to find anything, _anything_, to fight this monster.

And she did.

"Let go of him, Gisuke!"

Takaaki's voice lowered, as the fake prince halted his movements.

Gisuke turned his head slowly, and looked over his shoulders to see the innocent pink-haired princess, dressed in the not-so-innocent ninja clothes, standing with a determined look and a sword—Takaaki's sword. He saw her glare at him, the angry emerald orbs flaring. But he didn't flinch at her stare, nor did he even move an inch. Gisuke simply looked at her, his elbow still on Takaaki's neck, his hand still gripping the blood-stained dagger.

Suzuna kept glaring. But for him, it wasn't the angriest he'd seen from her. He knew that ever since she knew of his existence, never was a day when he didn't feel her angry aura around him. So seeing her that way was normal for him now.

Especially now that he knew that the glare consisted of nothing but fear.

So he just smirked, and chuckled silently.

"Let. Him. Go!" The princess shouted, gripping Takaaki's sword tighter. "Or else—"

"Or else, _what_?" He shouted back, smirk in place. "You're going to kill me with _that_? Heh, you don't even know how to use it."

But before he could do anything, Takaaki took his distraction as a chance to fight back and pushed as strong as could have. Fortunately, it surprised Gisuke himself, and Takaaki didn't only push him away but also kicked him for a better advantage, leaving the brown-haired man a couple of meters far from him.

Takaaki quickly stood up, holding his bleeding stomach and ran towards Suzuna, a bit frozen from the latest event. He grabbed her by the waist, lightly pulling her to the slightly open door, his sword still in her tight grip. They needed to run as fast as they could; they couldn't stand a chance against Gisuke, no matter how hard it was to admit. Takaaki simply bit his lip to keep the pain away, because his life didn't matter anymore. Suzuna needed to get out alive.

But there on the door poof-ed a man with a bandage on his forehead, his hair similar to the lying prince, the other companion of Gisuke's top henchmen. He was smirking, but smaller than Gisuke's evil one. He held two swords with thorny edges, like a razor, on each hand. He was almost forgotten as both recalled the scar-faced man the shinobi fought in the forest.

"Where do you think you're going, princess?" He slyly stared at the wobbly couple.

"In hell, ya bastard!"

Suzuna knew that idiotic and loud voice anywhere. As soon as the bandaged man flashed his scary flashy swords, he fell unconscious right in front of them and behind him revealed an orange jacket with a whiskered blonde in it, grinning as if knocking the man was the greatest thing he'd ever done. Naruto jumped over the body, and then they saw Kakashi, with, surprisingly, Sasuke and Sakura behind.

The couple sighed in relief. Naruto caught Takaaki, almost falling flat on the ground because Suzuna couldn't hold on any longer. The princess caught the rest of them approaching, and she almost smiled, except when her emerald eyes saw Sakura's dart to the direction behind her. She wasn't able to catch up to her speed as the girl who wore her now ripped wedding dress ran as fast as light.

She heard a loud punch—and she swore she saw Naruto twitch in slight fear.

Then she heard a few good profanities from Sakura's voice, mixed with Gisuke's name.

And another round of loud and hard punches.

Suzuna, along with all the people in the room, looked at where Sakura was. She was catching her breath, with a tired and angry yet content face, her hands slowly releasing themselves from a tight fist. There in front of her was a streaked brown-haired man, wearing a dirty blood-stained white suit, his face flat on the floor. Suzuna's eyes went back to her "twin", who was slowly exhaling, and small grin gradually creeping on her mouth. Sakura looked at her back.

After what seemed like the longest serene seconds they've had, they both smiled.

It was all over. Naruto rambled on about defeating a lot of bad guys, gloating on how he did it all by himself, because his Kage Bunshins were after all just himself. Sasuke just shrugged at his stories, and seemingly reported to anyone listening that the royal grounds were finally at peace. The visitors were made to stay at a safe room, and all of Gisuke's men were defeated. Sakura approached them, and tended to Takaaki's wound.

It was all finally done... Or so, they thought.

Time passed slowly as they all heard a sound between a growl and a grunt, from a dreadful voice both pinkettes knew terribly. They were all so distracted to realize that Gisuke was actually running towards their group. They ran away from him, Naruto carrying Takaaki, Sasuke pulling Sakura. But the sick bastard managed to reach for the princess, pulling her in front of him, her face to them. No one knew where Gisuke got the sword from as he threatened them, a sharp blade on Suzuna's neck. Sakura shouted Suzuna's name just as loud as Takaaki did. Though he was in pain, the fake prince kept his evil smirk in tact.

But a split second later, Gisuke screamed in pain, gasping for his last breath as he slowly released Suzuna and his sword. Takaaki managed to catch her. And when Gisuke's body lay motionless, hoping it was finally the last time he was ever going to be conscious, the rest laid their eyes on a silver-haired man with bright lightning in his hand. Kakashi finally made sure that everything _really_ was over—he defeated Gisuke once and for all.

Yes, everything was finally, _finally_, over.

* * *

**Well that's a bit of a disappointment... for me, at least. I'm sorry if it sounded like I rushed the last part. I was just trying to fit the whole scene in this chapter without making it too long.**

**But hell yeah, shannaro! Chapter nine is finally done, everything is done and woot woot, next chapter's the ending ma peeps! Haha. Sorry if I wasn't able to put a good fight for Sakura. And few explanations may answer a few questions I'm sure you have.**

**Gisuke might've been a bit stronger than I thought he was, surviving a kick on his face, two kunais and a lot of punches. Well, yeah. I didn't realize he was that strong until I re-read this, LOL. I wasn't able to give moments for Naruto, so I'm sad about that. And I really, really wanted Sasuke to be the one to defeat Gisuke, but I thought about it and finalized that poor Kakashi doesn't have a moment too. So I gave him the pleasure of using his Raikiri on him, haha. And remember when I said I couldn't think of a name for Gisuke's henchmen? Yeah. And I didn't want them to be alive for too long; it's a bit of a hassle for me to keep up with a lot of OC's. And no, Sakura wasn't able to change clothes, because Suzuna was wearing them.**

**So that's about it! Feel free to ask me anything if ever you haven't understood a single thing. LOL.**

**Also, I'm planning to re-read the whole fanfic, and I might re-upload it. No worries, there are no major changes, just a few typos I wasn't able to change.**

**Next chapter will be the last, unfortunately. I didn't think it'd reach chapter ten, though. Sniff sniff, sob sob. Awww...**

**Hihihi. Oh well. Be patient my lovelies, I promised I'd finish this before the end of May, so stay in your seats folks!**

**Reviews are very much appreciated! Mwah x**

**P.S. Dang, have you guys seen Naruto chapter 631? Oh, dang, oh dang! I literally cried at the last page, waaaahhh! Ohkay then. Bye, haha.**


	10. Promise

**(a/n:) So... this has been a nice journey. This fanfic really made me miss writing stories, on how I really, really, truly loved writing. Maybe there were a lot of mistakes here and there, but the idea of going back to write something out of nothing but imagination just makes me giddy inside. Even though I'm not sure if people do read this, I've finally gotten the hang of this certain passion of mine.**

**So, I just want to thank every single person out there who read this entire fanfic from the first time I posted this, those times you might've waited too long when I said I'd update this weekly (ahehehe), and to those who really liked this story. Of course, I wouldn't make an exception to those who only knew this today.**

**To every single reader reading this right now, thank you. And I love every single one of you. Mwah!**

**This is finally the last chapter, and I had a bittersweet feeling when I was writing this... So, before you start, I just want to apologize again, because I might rant too much. And that SasuSaku won't be doing anything as intimate as kissing. But, I promise that I'll put as much as fluff as I can. Wahey.**

**Enjoyyyyy!**

**IMPORTANT: Remember that old guy from ****chapter 5**** named ****Homura****? Yes, I told you he's important. Though his scene is little, he is necessary for something to happen. You'll see, wahey.**

* * *

CHAPTER 10: PROMISE

* * *

Everything was finally done—the chaos, the fighting, the lies. _Everything_ except one.

A promise.

In the beginning of their journey, a lot of deals and promises were made. First off, was from a kunoichi named Sakura Haruno. With her pink hair and green eyes, reflections of the person she made this promise to. To protect her with her life was what she proclaimed for everyone to hear, and she was proud to have done it. And along the way, she discovered secrets of love affairs, of arranged marriages, of evil schemes and of broken hearts, more promises to keep only to herself.

Why? Because she was sort of selfish—in a good way. She didn't want anybody involved when she knew someone was going to get hurt. She didn't want anyone to know, so she lied to keep them safe. She didn't want them to get angry at each other, fight each other, argue until the bonds she cared for were broken. So she became selfish, just to make sure that everyone else was happy and safe.

While she suffered in her own decisions.

She didn't even realize that her promise of happiness wasn't only meant for Suzuna, but to Takaaki, to the Kingdom, and even to her team. It was only at the end that she learned that she wanted to give joy to the people around her. Maybe because it was the only way she could repay them for making her happy. Maybe because she knew it was the only way. Maybe because she knew that they were willing to give their lives for her just as much as she would.

Or maybe because she just loved them too much, that she was willing to hurt herself.

Yes, Sakura was a selfish little girl. She would keep everything to herself, the promises, the secrets, the schemes, the hurt, the pain. She would keep them to herself so that her friends and family would get nothing but happiness, contentment, and love.

Too bad they didn't let her.

She was good at keeping secrets and promises, but they were better at decoding them. The moment she finalized a plan leaving them uninvolved, in a matter of seconds, they'd force themselves to be involved. It was a mystery for her on why or how they did it, but she just gave up on decoding them too. She simply smiled at the idea that the amount of love she gives them, was just as much as they give her.

She was happy with that idea. And she was thankful, _forever_ grateful.

That was why she didn't have the heart to scold them anymore as she observed them walk in the church halls a few good meters away from where she was.

Everything was finally over. As tiring as it sounds due to its repetitiveness, it still felt right. Finally, the Kingdom was safe. Suzuna was safe. Everyone was safe.

But Sakura still had guilt inside of her, as the whole situation wasn't exactly clarified to any human being on the planet. So she decided to speak, after an eternity of debating inside her mind.

"Hey, guys?" Her soft voice echoed to their ears, their heads turning to her direction, including the two non-shinobi people.

She eyed them one by one, her emerald orbs narrowing slowly as she searched through her wide forehead of what to say first. Her reasons were long enough to fill a paper as wide as the palace, and her excuses were sort of valid. Her actions didn't speak louder than her words, since they didn't even know everything that happened to her until now. So what was the best thing to say?

She closed her eyes, then sighed, before opening them again.

"I'm sorry... for everything that's happened." The kunoichi spoke with the softest voice, bowing her head, hoping that the people she loves wouldn't scold her, or anything in the same degree.

She waited for a reply, but her heartbeat deafened her ears. She just wish they knew how nervous she was at the moment.

Until a hand was placed on her shoulder, forcing her to look up. And there, she met a mirror.

"Don't apologize, Sakura-san."

She blinked, while Suzuna simply smiled.

"To be honest, _I_ should be the one apologizing." The princess's eyed the ground, feeling the same guilt as she did. "I should've been strong; I'm the ruler of this island and I didn't have the strength to fight for my home. If I was stronger, I could've protected both islands on my own."

They stared at each other once more.

"But I didn't. Because I wasn't as brave as you."

Suzuna slowly moved her hand from her shoulder to her back, as so did her other hand, placing her in a tight hug, the first they ever had. Sakura felt her entwined arms on hers, her hands squeezing the cloth on her skin. They both felt the same things on that single embrace, the regret, the shame, the gratitude.

"Thank you for making me strong, Sakura-san." Her breath tickled the kunoichi's neck. "I might not be able to fight like you and the others, but I promise you..."

They pulled away to reflect their own smiles.

"...that I will fight for this Kingdom as its rightful Queen."

Sakura squeezed Suzuna's arms, beyond blissful than she ever had been, thankful of how strong the princess was because of her. But hearing that she was to become Queen reminded her of another apology.

"But,"—the pink-haired ninja sighed in shame once again—"...I'm really sorry about the wedding."

It was Suzuna's turn to blink in realization.

"I'm really sorry, Suzuna. Your Kingdom waited for years for this, but I just destroyed the whole thing." Sakura chuckled nervously. "Now you're going to have to rule both islands alone."

"Well..."—Suzuna blushed slightly as she eyed a wounded dark-haired boy before turning back to her—"not _completely_ alone."

Sakura raised an eyebrow, glancing at the princess and at Takaaki back and forth. Apparently, she wasn't informed of a certain event from a while ago in the forest. The royal pinkette confessed to her of what happened between them there, and Sakura gasped in delight. Finally, they both knew what they felt for each other, of how much they both loved each other in the same way.

"So you _are_ getting married! To Takaaki." The kunoichi squealed, her eyes shimmering in newfound happiness.

But the statement wasn't the greatest thing Suzuna heard. True, she now knew that Takaaki loved her like she did to him. But there was a problem hindering what she wanted, and it showed in her now sad eyes.

"I wish we could, Sakura-san." The boy spoke, his eyes as sad as hers.

Sakura blinked again in confusion. And it wasn't just her, but her teammates as well—they just didn't voice it out like she and her blonde teammate did. They all stared at him, his shoulder on the Naruto's for support, the same question in all their heads.

"Takaaki isn't of royal blood. So we can't get married. Ever." Suzuna's voice was of pure depression.

And it hurt them both for that single fact.

It was unfair, just as Sakura stated. But there was nothing they could do, it was the harsh reality of being born into royalty. No one could blame Suzuna's parents for having her as their child, nor could they blame the couple for falling in love with each other.

"But it's alright." Takaaki said, his facial expression consisted of loneliness, but there was still contentment. "At least I can stay by her side."

Suzuna smiled at him just as he did.

But Sakura couldn't help but feel guiltier than before. She promised to give her happiness, and she knew that Suzuna's happiness was with Takaaki. Although the boy had a point, Sakura just wished that it would all be a happy ending for both of them, that they would be together forever, not only through words but through a real commitment, a pact, something called matrimony. But for one single _yet_ big reason, because Takaaki wasn't born a prince, they couldn't have that happy ending she wanted for them.

A small crack in her heart made her realize that her promise was _really_ impossible now.

"E-excuse me, princess?"

Until a voice woke them to reality.

They all turned their heads to the direction of a sound that seemed like an old man's voice. Wrinkles were all over his face, telling them of how much hardships his life had seen, of how many obstacles he had faced. But his posture was as young as his mind; he didn't need a cane or any kind of support for his walk. He had a white beard and dark eyes, as dark as Sasuke and Takaaki's. He was a stranger to all of them, except Suzuna.

"Homura-san?" Her small voice disturbed the five-second silence around them.

"So Gisuke-sama really wasn't a true prince then?" His velvet voice made them question of his real age. "Is it true, Suzuna-sama?"

"How did you know?"

"In all honesty, princess..." The old man exhaled, and Sakura knew there was a hint of relief in his breath. "...I never trusted that boy."

Suzuna blinked in slight surprise.

"Ever since he showed up in the palace of my King and Queen, when he presented himself to the royal elders, I had doubts. Of course, out of respect, I didn't say anything. But I knew the King and Queen, more than anybody else."

"What... do you mean?" The princess spoke in a serious tone. She had her doubts as well when the bastard made his existence as a cousin known, but she didn't tell anybody either.

"The royal family tree is small, milady, as I lived to witness it bloom. I would know if a person is born a relative of my King and Queen. Our Kingdom has certain traits only we have, like our eyes." Homura smiled a little. No one noticed him looking at Takaaki from the corner of his eyes, but he kept his whole attention to young princess before him.

"Eyes? You mean, like, your dark eyes?" Sakura didn't mind being sound a bit rude, because she was really curious of this certain Kingdom.

"Yes, our eyes." Homura didn't mind it either. In fact, he was secretly giddy inside to talk to the girl who was talked about being the princess's look-alike. "Ordinary people may conclude that our eyes are just black. But they're not just black, because if you look closely, you can see a circular streak of dark gray in our pupils."

Suzuna's eyes widened a little, a tiny voice of realization hit. She refused to believe what her brain was screaming at her, but she stole a short glance at Takaaki, who was clueless of what was happening.

The old man was about to continue his story to the curious shinobi, but the princess couldn't handle the fire in her head anymore.

"Takaaki." It was supposed to be a whisper, but the whole group turned to her as soon as she was heard.

Said boy looked at her with concern, because he knew from the tone of her voice that she was debating on saying what she wanted to say. But before anyone reacted, the old man eyed the boy, because it was his first time meeting him.

Or so he thought.

Takaaki noticed Homura's gaze on him, the old man slowly approaching him. It looked a bit creepy, but the boy noticed the similarity of their eyes, its shade the same tint.

"You..." Homura started to narrow his reflecting dark eyes, his gaze deepening on Takaaki's eyes.

"H...Homura-san?" The boy was tempted to back away and run, if it wasn't for his bandaged stomach and his arm on Naruto's shoulders.

"You have _his_ eyes."

"...What?" The blonde jinchuuriki, being the nearest to the scene, blurted out whatever he thought of for the group to hear, and Homura didn't seem to mind. "What do you mean by 'his'? You saying he has a twin too like Suzuna-chan?"

If the situation wasn't serious, they would've laughed at the blonde or smacked him on his head.

All eyes were on Homura and Takaaki, both having the most intense staring contest. The old man broke it off a few seconds later, gazing on the princess who was slowly guessing everything right.

"Suzuna-sama, this boy... has the late prince's eyes."

It took a while for everyone to absorb the statement Homura made completely. Kakashi and Sasuke were both quiet, but anybody who knew them could figure out that they were stunned. Naruto was a slow one, but his eyes began bulging out as he softly stuttered to find a right word to say from his realization. Sakura had her emerald orbs wide open, her mouth gaping a little, trying her best not to stare at Takaaki but failed to.

Suzuna, being the first to have her gears clicked, somewhat reflected everyone's reaction. Deep inside she had a hard time accepting it, but some part of her needed verbal confirmation of the news before them. She stared at Takaaki, whose onyx eyes were as wide as saucers, mainly from disbelief.

All of them had the same question, and Homura was more than willing to answer it.

"What are you saying?" Takaaki spoke in the slowest possible manner, each word felt like rocks in his throat.

"The prince didn't die after all." The old man gradually smiled, his hand reaching for Takaaki's shoulder. "He was here all along."

Sakura tore her widened eyes away from the scene to look at the rising noise behind them. She saw the long wooden chairs with unfamiliar faces, but she was sure that they were all from the wedding's audience. Some of them were standing up, some were taking slow steps towards them. They all had confused faces, some were of joy, some were even tearing up. Sakura concluded two things as she continued to stare at them without hesitation—they were all from the other island's Kingdom.

That, and they all believed Homura's proclamation.

"I don't get it." She was, once again, thankful of her blonde teammate's voice for waking her wandering mind.

The old man didn't seem offended as he answered, not tearing his gaze on Takaaki.

"The young prince didn't die. He only disappeared and was declared dead after years of searching for him—"

"And my parents found you wandering outside the castle years ago... a few weeks before we heard the prince's death." Suzuna gasped, not sure if she was happy or ashamed of the discovery.

Sakura could practically hear all the pieces fitting together, gears clicking together, as her heartbeat was not helping her with the situation. She and her teammates literally had their mouths open from the shock. All eyes were on Takaaki now, his eyes matching their wide sizes. The kunoichi looked over at Suzuna who, strangely enough, had bittersweet tears in her open eyes. She was begging for something, she needed to hear a confirmation, just to make sure that what she, and everyone else, was thinking of was right.

Homura gave away his age in a sigh, grinning.

"We finally found you, my Prince..."

* * *

Although it seemed a bit impossible, everything went well from yesterday's events. After the crashed wedding and endless fighting, a good twenty-four hours of cleaning and arranging every single object castle made everything seem like it never happened. Excluding a few paint jobs and needed carpentry, the palace was literally fine. There was never a fire, so that saved the forest. The only real damage anybody would be concerned about was the front gates and the church halls. But most of them were already taken care of.

The guests and visitors were checked on by doctors and nurses, and were made sure to take a safe trip back to wherever they came from. Despite a few hours of trauma, almost all of them were normal after the whole "taking over the Kingdom" chaos. A lot came from the other Twin Island, and they came back home with smiles on their faces. Even though it angered them that the Prince they looked up to for a couple of years was just a fake, the ending was pretty.

Gisuke (no, he wasn't dead, _unfortunately_), along with his men were taken to prison, naturally. The trial for them was going to be predictable, and it didn't bother anyone about it.

It was all _bittersweet_, to sum it up it one word. There were good things, and bad things as well. All of it was memorable, since a few of them were actually just a first to occur.

Like how it was see a person who looked exactly like Sakura.

The pink-haired ninja gazed upon the wide, blue sea before her. The waves were strangely attracting her attention as she thought of the most interesting three-day mission they ever had. Not only did she meet a "twin", but she finally found out what it feels like to be wearing a wedding gown. It would've been the happiest thing that happened to her, if only she wasn't going to die in the end.

But really, wearing that heavy, frilly, white dress was one of the things she would never forget. She recalled looking at the gold-framed mirror in Suzuna's room, she didn't recognize herself. She was shining, not to mention a bit "flowery"—lilies on her hands, on her head, a few on the dress, she looked like a garden. But above it all, she felt the most honest when she said that she looked beautiful then.

And one thing she would never forget in this whole experience, was that smiles and laughter are easy to get, but happiness is the rarest of them all.

"So... you're leaving now, huh?"

Sakura knew that the owner of the voice she heard would be earning that rare kind of bliss soon enough.

"We didn't actually expect to stay this long." The pinkette chuckled, turning her head to meet Suzuna.

Twenty-four hours may not have been the longest time to move on from anything horrible or unforgettable. But the sight of seeing the pink-haired princess smile like there was no tomorrow was sort of a miracle—a priceless miracle. It was as if Suzuna wasn't almost married to a sick, twisted man of a fake prince, or that she was about to be killed moments after. Or her Kingdom was almost destroyed by a single lie.

Sakura gazed back to the sea, hearing footsteps come close, stopping beside her. Both pinkettes wondered at the beautiful view, their smiles unwavering.

There they both stood at the rock platform, a few meters away from the end of the port. The same boat they used to travel to the island was being arranged by its sailors, grinning at each other. The princess also found a few familiar faces, like a certain blonde idiot running around the giant vessel, looking like a kid in a candy store. He was excited to go home, as his loud voice unintentionally announced for the whole world to hear. A silver-haired adult with a mask on his simply stood at one of the boxes on the port, reading an orange book and keeping his cool, waiting for their departure to start.

However, the princess looked for another boy, a dark-haired, quiet lad that seemed annoyed all the time. Suzuna scanned the port, to the boat, to each of the sailors and the two shinobi she found—the Uchiha was nowhere to be seen. She blinked, asking to herself silently rather than to the kunoichi beside her.

Why? Because she had little scheme to do.

"I'm happy for you, Suzuna." Said princess turned to look at Sakura, who was already beaming at her.

Suzuna smiled back.

"It's all thanks to you, Sakura-san. You should know that."

"Hmm? Why? What did I do?" Sakura raised an eyebrow, but she was still smiling. "Because if you're talking about the promise I made, it wasn't as successful as I hoped it would."

The two stared at each like they did the first time they met, eyes wide like they saw something unbelievable. They blinked, laughter threatening to break their staring contest. Sakura continued to speak.

"I mean, it _partly_ came true. I saved you from marrying that worthless bastard. But,"—the kunoichi looked away, her smile slowly crumbling—"...I wasn't able to protect you. You still got hurt."

Suzuna sighed. She knew what Sakura was talking about, but it was just a minor detail. The kunoichi seemed to not let it go yet, the memory of Suzuna's few bruises and Takaaki's deep cut.

The princess took hold of her hand, making her look back.

"If it wasn't for your promise, I wouldn't be what I am right now."

"...a Queen?" The pink-haired ninja tilted her head in wonder.

"No." Suzuna shook her head, and smiled. "Happy."

Wind blew through their pink hair, swaying a few strands out of place. Both green eyes shimmered in the bright reflection of the sun, contentment in their voices. Sakura had to blink a few happy tears away before grinning at her royal companion, acceptance at hand. Suzuna was right. The path had a few bumps and cracks, but what mattered was at the end of the road. She promised to give her happiness, and that's what she did.

Suzuna was happy. And so was she.

"Well, I suppose you're right." The kunoichi sighed with the widest smile. "And I guess being married makes you happier too, right?" She chuckled.

In the past, any topic concerning romance was something Suzuna would deny expertly. A few rare times, she would turn around and blush for no one to witness. But after her patience was rewarded, the princess—or rather, the _queen_—wouldn't mind blushing a little in front of someone. After all, why would she be embarrassed about spending the rest of her life with the one she loves?

"I know it makes _me_ happy." A new but familiar voice from behind disturbed them.

Both girls turned to his direction, meeting the boy that was once a simple royal guard. He wore the traditional clothes of the Kingdom, a few golden patterns differed him from the villagers. He didn't wear a crown, but a certain silver ring on his hand was enough proof to say that he was a proud King, and happy new husband.

The events of discovering Takaaki's identity from the day before was still a bit shocking for Sakura, but it didn't change how she looked at him. He may have been the missing Prince of the other Twin Island, who lost his memories and was given luck to be found by Suzuna's parents. But he was still the same innocent boy Sakura met in the desert, his heart and soul dedicated to protect the princess, his rare streaked eyes containing the unconditional love he has for her.

It was going to be hard to adjust on his new life and unpredictable future, but Sakura knew that Takaaki would always look forward for his present, his life as King, and his commitment as Suzuna's forever.

Sakura kept her eyes on him as he approached his newly wedded wife, his smile the widest she'd ever seen. He was beyond happy, despite the missing memories that he just learned the day before. His queen shined before him, sparkling like an angel. All their lives they thought their feelings for each other would never be known. And at the moment they did, only royal blood separated them. Except, it never did.

Takaaki, the new King, the lost Prince, the royal guardian, the other half of Suzuna—it all made sense. Fate was just a little kid who knew how to put a few twists in life.

They held hands right in front of her, lost in their own world again, like they always did. Sakura had to wonder why her face didn't hurt from the smiling and all.

"We really are grateful of you, Sakura-san." He turned to her, his velvet voice as smoothing as always. "You may not realize it, but because of you, everything we wanted came true."

The wind blew once more as the kunoichi lowered her gaze, a bit bashful from the big compliment, before hearing the boy's possible last words to her.

"Thank you."

She looked at Takaaki, then to Suzuna. She had to fight an urge to squeeze them both in a very tight embrace.

"No. Thank _you_." She softly laughed, tucking a few pink strands behind her ear. "For giving me a chance to keep my promise."

Words weren't enough to describe the fluttering sensations in her insides. The sound of waves crashing beside them, the comforting cool breeze, the voices of joyful people in the port, they weren't able to compare the perfection of that moment. Sakura wouldn't like to say that butterflies were in her stomach. Maybe... glitters?

With golden confetti. Yes, that'd be nice.

"Now it's my turn to make a promise for you." Her sudden tone made Sakura blink. "I promise to keep this happiness you gave me, and share it to the whole Kingdom."

A faint color of pink came across her cheeks.

"But only if you promise me,"—and somehow, she heard a hint of excitement in Suzuna's tone—"...that you'll _marry_ that Uchiha teammate of yours!"

"Wh-wh-wha... E-eh... Su-Suzuna... E-e-eh... Wh-wha—!"

The faint pink became red, and Sakura's face turned tomato. And the sight of her wide green eyes just made the Queen laugh. Plus, she stuttered endlessly, struggling to come up with decent phrases to answer her.

"Oh, Sakura-san, I'm just teasing you!" Suzuna wiped a small happy tear from the corner of her eye, exhaling from the excessive laughter. "You really are an easy target, you know."

"Su... Suzuna!" The pink-haired ninja whined, pouting in defeat, her glare not looking as vicious as she wanted it to be. The redness of her face was slowly fading, but there was still a trace of the adorable color.

As if on cue, the stoic Uchiha came calling her, announcing that they were about to leave.

"Uchiha-san," The queen continued to speak in her teasing voice, and didn't care if Sakura was still there. "I don't think you'll need 30 years to find a wife anymore." She laughed like there was no tomorrow.

Sasuke simply raised an eyebrow and didn't fail to notice his female teammate turn completely red again.

* * *

The whole team stood by the edge of the boat, waving at the couple from the port. Naruto kept shouting things like wanting to come back again, making sure to bring ramen and whatnot. Even though it was all tiring and got a bit out of hand, they all agreed that they _will_ come back someday. The rest of them kept their eyes on the beautiful island, saying their last goodbyes and savoring the precious picture in their memory.

As soon as the place was out of sight, Sakura remained at her spot.

Her eyes kept shimmering, her eyes never wandering elsewhere but the direction of the island. The wind always felt nice ever since she knew how it felt, and the smell of sea comforted her blissful heart. Everything was at peace, she thought to herself.

She felt like an idiot. She couldn't help but keep coming back to the memories of the whole experience. She remembered reading the mission scroll, thinking that it would all be just the same, an easy-breezy escort mission. The words on the rolled paper didn't lie, they just forgot to tell her that she was going to save a Kingdom through posing as its betrothed princess.

Not to mention wearing a ripped wedding dress, too.

She had to stop chuckling to herself as she heard familiar footsteps approach beside her.

Sakura looked at the person, and wasn't quite surprised to see Sasuke's emotionless face there. His dark, mysterious eyes gazed upon the wide sea, and she couldn't help but wonder what he was thinking about at the moment. But nevertheless, she just smiled. And almost laughed at her on-going recollection of memories.

"So..." She started, knowing the boy wouldn't—and _never_ will—start a conversation.

Of course, he would listen. He just didn't say it out loud.

"You said I wasn't weak, huh?" It was more of a recalling statement than a question.

Sasuke just shrugged and kept his eyes forward. It wasn't that he didn't remember saying it, he just didn't think it'd be brought up a day after it happened. Sakura was never weak to his eyes, with the exception of the first few months after their team was formed. The pinkette wasn't as strong as everyone he knew, not even if she was compared to Naruto. But that didn't mean she was weak. Sakura had her own strength, her own inner power. He knew she just needed the right push to unleash it.

And thus resulted to her future apprenticeship to the Legendary female Sannin.

"You were stupid back then."

The pinkette raised an eyebrow and almost glared at him, but he continued to speak, much to her surprise.

"You made a childish promise, posed as the princess, got kidnapped and almost killed yourself..."

If it was possible, Sakura must've sunk in the ship with all the guilty accusations he gave her.

"...and you almost got married to that sick maniac of a bastard."

Until then.

The kuniochi blinked twice and looked at her genius teammate. He looked a bit pissed, like he did when he first met the said bastard. Again, she asked herself, _why_ was he?

"You really are an annoying idiot." Sasuke grumbled to himself, but she still heard him.

She should've been angry. Or at least a bit guilty. But despite the slight annoyance in his voice, Sasuke made it sound like he should've been responsible in stopping this whole chaos she started. Like he should've known that she was going to get herself in trouble and he'd regret not being able to save her. Like he should've known that she was going to wear a white frilly gown and almost got married.

The thought made her smile, happier than expected.

"Sorry." Was all she could think of saying, and it meant a lot, for her.

"Don't ever wear that stupid wedding dress again, or else,"—he glared at her half-heartedly—"I won't hesitate to kill another fake prince and burn him alive."

Little did she know, it had a deeper meaning for him too.

"Don't worry, Sasuke-kun..." She flashed a small grin at him before turning to look at the sea.

It was supposed to be a threat, but the way Sasuke spoke those words just made her heart flutter again. She couldn't help but think. What if he arrived earlier at the wedding? She wondered what he would do. She was sure he was going to torment the bastard, but would he let her rip the gown in half or would he still carry her?

Oh well.

Sometimes, Sakura liked her over-the-top imagination.

"But I promise you, Sasuke-kun, that the next time I _will_ wear a wedding gown—"

At that moment, she didn't mind posing as a fake bride again, just to see him rushing towards her and save her and carry her away.

"—I wouldn't mind seeing you at the end of the aisle."

Sasuke knew she let him hear her voice despite its low volume. She giggled softly, an adorable smile in place, pink cheeks and bright beautiful emerald eyes. He didn't know how fast her heart was beating, but he knew he guessed it right. From the corner of his eyes, he saw her turn around and approach another annoying blonde, shouting nonsense he didn't care about.

He counted a few seconds, a few minutes, a few heartbeats.

Then he smirked.

"I wouldn't mind it either."

* * *

**Bahaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa! The end. Woot woot! Huzzaaaa. That was fun. Really. Wahey. Inhale. Exhale. Yey. Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you! I don't know what else to say but thank you. Ahahaha.**

**To all those who read this, thank you. To those who reviewed, thank you. To those who didn't, I hope you read this, then I'll thank you, haha. JK**

**What else should I say? Umm... Well, school starts next week. And I don't know the next fanfic I should make of. I had another look-alike plot in mind, but Sasuke ain't in it, so it's quite disappointing, but it's SasuSaku, so it's weird as well. LOL**

**Hmm... Oh! Someone PM-ed me about my twitter account. It's kinda embarrassing, but here it is! Go follow meh**

**twitter dot com slash jessabeetolens**

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cutecookiechick, always-kick-ass, aalc95, Channell285, White Rose Didi, YurikoMinamoto, l0NeR-f0r-LiFe, chiisana inochi, xXJuuLXx, sweetdude-v5, sammycakes03, sakuthewalmartninja, peach-ass, lolajam77, llaverrine, kathymoonstone, kakiro19, jen1490, janeyiah45, itunesaddiction, RockDaBubbles, PinkStar115, Kimmi-chan92, JakuraAngel, IceCreamBlossom, GTakahiro, FernInaField, Erigay, Edgar3t, Dotted-Daffodil, Bad-Kitty-Kill, BloodyGirl, Gaara777, I'llBeYourBeautifulNightmare, Kyrazurite, fallen titania, weirdpony115

**Again, thank you. Mwah! I'm literally baking cupcakes and cookies for everyone. See ya next time, my lovelies!**


	11. Epilogue

**A/N: Alrighty folks! Before I try and rant myself here, I would like to thank everyone for reading this VERY MUCH DELAYED epilogue.**

**Also, please read the last part of this chapter. PLEASE. Thanks.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

EPILOGUE

* * *

A decade of unexpected happenings and episodes passed quickly without any warning. A few heartbreaks, some separations, unwanted losses, arguments, fights, _even a __**war**_—it would take twice the time to recollect them all. Ten years was too slow to forget, but too fast to even grasp and absorb better. Nevertheless, it still went by.

Ten years. Oh yes, how long has it been?

In these rarest times, Sakura would reminisce how long it took her to be where she was right now. With all the sacrifice, hard work, sweat, blood and tears she gave for the world to use, she would silently laugh to herself, picturing her 12-year-old self, being the clueless pink-haired girl she once was.

If she had the chance to go back, she'd give a little warning to her young self. Especially about the war.

But the clicking of her wooden heels woke her from her thoughts as emerald eyes stared at a door for a second before knocking on it. She waited for a voice, which she received afterwards, confirming her permission to enter the room.

Despite the fact that Konoha was _almost_ destroyed into bits and pieces, when the Hokage's Tower was being rebuilt, it never occurred to the medic-nin that the main office would turn out to be _almost_ the same as the old one.

Almost.

With the exception of a new door in the far right of the room. Where it leads is something she would never ask her Shishou.

In the middle of the new yet somewhat familiar room of the Hokage, Sakura stood with great poise and expectantly greeted her mentor.

"Done with the mission already, Sakura?" the blonde Sannin greeted back with a smile only for her pink-haired apprentice.

"I suppose so, Tsunade-sama." the pinkette chuckled, allowing herself to be at ease in the presence of a high-ranked ninja. "Is it unfortunate that I finished it too quickly?"

"I know you're always fast when you need to be." Tsunade shook her head, placing down the documents in her hand.

Seeing this, Sakura took advantage and walked forward to hand the finished mission report.

But really, the mission was nothing compared to the past war. It was a simple solo B-rank mission, and those kinds of tasks weren't a stranger for a Medic Jounin such as her. It only took her 3 days flat to leave and go back the village. It was too easy, even the details seemed like child's play for her now.

For a couple of minutes, the pink-haired kunoichi stared at her mentor, waiting for an approval or a permission for her to leave. She was about to speak when she noticed Tsunade blink, probably realizing something and stopped halfway the scroll.

"Oh! That's right, Sakura, before you leave..."—the Hokage almost dropped the rolled paper to reach out for another paper, this time folded into three, as if it was a formal letter and handed it to the kunoichi—"...take this."

Sakura stared at the folded white paper, blinking in question before looking back at her mentor.

"Don't look at me! That thing just came in this morning without any indication of where it came from." Tsunade raised her hands, waving them innocently before resuming back to the mission report. "It has your name, though."

Said kunoichi looked at the letter again and flipped it, confirming that yes, her name was the only indication it had. Other than that, it had nothing. Not a single line, not even a date or a country stamp... nothing.

After staring at her name—which was, by the way, written in a very eligible way—on the mysterious letter, Sakura asked for her leave and Tsunade just waved back, an improper signal to most people, but needless to say that she was actually used to it. So she turned on her heel and made her way to the door, but before she could reach for the doorknob, her mentor spoke once more.

"But you know, Sakura,"—pink hair swayed slightly as she looked over her shoulders, her attention stolen by the Sannin's voice—"I'm pretty sure you'll figure out why there's a crescent moon imprinted by your name."

* * *

It was yet another sunny day in the village of Konoha. Although she knew a lot has changed, along with the street signs and directions and stores and houses and all that, a few years of repair and rebuilding wouldn't change the smiles and laughter of the villagers. The weather was still calming, its soothing breeze and cool winds swaying her pink tresses along with her pace.

Sakura walked along the new streets of her hometown, greeting a few people she knew and knew her, her smile unwavering, warming the hearts of the hardworking villagers she healed at least once in her lifetime as a medic.

As her heels clicked against the stoned ground, she couldn't help but once again remember the past few years that passed. The last time she _truly_ reminisced her memories was at least half a decade ago, and by then the war was still fresh from everyone's minds.

She thought of her past self again, and wondered if her past self would ever think, at least once, that she'd actually become the second head of Konoha Hospital. She chuckled at the idea, shaking her head. She knew the answer would be 'no'. 12-year-old Sakura would never even think of becoming a medic, not until she knew of Tsunade's existence, that is. 12-year-old Sakura wouldn't even be prepared of the harsh training under the female Sannin, those 3 grueling years of near-death experiences wouldn't be in her head 10 years before. Healing patients, performing impossible surgeries and soaking her hands in too much blood... yes, she's quite affirmative that her young and innocent self wouldn't be able to handle it all as much as she did.

But then again, look at where she was now. She's almost capable of surpassing her own mentor, Tsunade, the legendary Sannin, the first female Hokage, the great Medic. Even Sakura refuses to believe it when people point it out to her. She would just shrug it off and smile politely.

Then there's Team 7, or at least what they still call themselves as. Since all of them have graduated from Genin, or even Chuunin, Team 7 was no longer an official group. But all of them wanted to stay the way it was, despite Naruto _miraculously_ turning into a Jounin and is now begging for Tsunade's guidance to become the future Hokage, or Kakashi finally agreeing to go back to ANBU, but only part-time since he _finally_ admitted that he was aging (they all laughed at him when he did this) but he would still wear his Jounin vest, or even having two additions in their weird and psychotic "family", namely Sai—who got out of ROOT after Danzou died and the organization was abolished with the approval of the five Kages, and Yamato—who was rescued from the previous war, saved by their only medic teammate of course, after months of observation and healing.

Now that she thought about it, Team 7 was actually the biggest in number among their batchmates.

Not that she complained, really.

Sakura sighed, and halted her walk, not really knowing where she was going. Her eyes were looking at nowhere, but her head was tilted downwards, her head still in its own world.

She then realized—they've all grown up. They've all come a _long_ way after ten years.

She didn't even notice that she stopped by a random shop, until she saw her emeralds reflect against its glass window.

Her mind suddenly drifted to a certain Uchiha, that dark-haired shinobi that was once an S-class criminal, the boy who completed the circle that is Team 7, the man that changed her whole life. She knew that he too has changed in a lot of ways. She could count endlessly of his changes in the past decade, like how tall he grew up, taller than her and Naruto, how fair yet tan his skin still was, how his hair grew longer yet it didn't look weird for his features, how his eyes turned darker than his hair from all the hardships it went through. She remembered her heart being broken on the night he left and how he broke it once again when they met in Orochimaru's lair. She recalled how he looked at her when they met for an uncounted time when he killed Danzou, or when he tried to kill her when she was supposed to kill him. She couldn't even forget the way their eyes stayed on each other longer than they should've when they met in the midst of war.

She even remembered how she wished the war wouldn't end, just as long as she knew he was there, without the intent to kill her or her loved ones.

Ah yes, those were the days. Days she knew she couldn't get back. Days she knew were out of reach. Days she knew Team 7 was truly called a _family,_ even though the circumstances were out of place.

Still, she couldn't deny how she really missed Sasuke. She made a mental note to ask him about her long hair when she sees him again.

"Sakura-san?" A familiar voice broke through her thoughts, her eyes turning to its direction.

"Sai." She instantly smiled. If it was someone else, they would've immediately fallen for that bright beam of hers.

Ten years sure was a long time. But looking at Sai, who finally had a lot of genuine smiles nowadays, who was currently walking towards her with that gentle expression he reserved only for Team 7—his _only _family, it all felt like it was just yesterday.

Then, it hit her.

"Sai, you're back!" Sakura smiled more as she stepped forward, helping her once emotionless teammate close the distance between them, her hands involuntarily reaching out for him.

Said shinobi smiled back, halting his footsteps once he was a feet away from, because he knew he was about to be pulled into an expected embrace from his only female teammate.

It wasn't weird, nor was it awkward. Over the years, her team knew why she'd do such a thing. She was simply acting as what she was originally supposed to be—their guide, their light, their balancing beam, their shoulder to lean on. Or in other terms, their "second mother".

"How was the mission? Are you hurt? It's been a month since I've seen you an—," Sakura didn't even spare a breath for her teammate to say something, until she realized something. "Wait, just a minute, where's...?"

Sai's expression turned somewhat grim, but it didn't stay too long as he flashed another smile to her, a smile he knew that would comfort her.

"They're in the hospital, don't worry." His new habit took over, patting Sakura on the head since he grew a little bit taller than her. "That's why I came looking for you before I go to the Hokage."

Sakura looked up to him—she really was a bit petite, she noticed. But after Sai gave another pat on her head and a soothing smile, she sighed.

"You should go see him, Hinata-san's probably waiting for you too." were the last words Sai gave him before they parted.

And so, after a wave or two, Sakura spun around to a different direction, a familiar road she memorized first when Konoha was fully rebuilt, to enter a building that felt like her second home—the hospital, so she could greet a few more of her "family".

What else was she going to do anyways? She missed them too much to even stop herself from smiling like an idiot.

* * *

By the time she arrived at the newly improved building, various pitches of voices greeted her. Of course, she had to greet back. Just because she was the second head, next to Shizune (since Tsunade finally gave retirement a go) didn't mean she had the right to be snobbish and bratty. She still had responsibilities, and she knew what it felt like to be at the very bottom of being in a hospital. Familiar faces, a few villagers, nurses and doctors, and how could she ignore smiling at a few children passing by? All of them knew her, in return, she knew them.

But she wasn't there to have small talk, or even work. She did, after all, just finished a mission, which gave her the right to have a day-off, even if it was just one day.

Her feet automatically took her to a direction where she wanted to go. She didn't need to ask where the room was; she simply needed to find that radiating chakra she memorized, since she grew up along side this boy for more than a decade.

Along the way, she saw a familiar face walking towards her direction, a lovely maiden with midnight-colored hair and a face fit for an angel. As their eyes met, they both smile.

"Hinata!"

"Ah, Sakura-san."

The pinkette quickened her pace to greet the Hyuuga heiress, a girl she had grown fond of over the past few years, since she had come back more than once, asking to be taught a few advanced medic skills. And within that span, the two had a friendship not even Ino could compare. But that didn't mean the Yamanaka girl didn't matter anymore—she was still Sakura's best friend, after all.

"How is he?" Again, Sakura couldn't care less if she was being too straightforward with her questions. She was just being too giddy that time.

"He's fine. He had a lot of injuries, no surgery but still..." At that statement, Hinata could've been as sad as the moon, but her smile didn't fade away. Sakura knew why. "But you know him. He'll recover faster than anyone among us."

The medic-nin laughed along with her, agreeing. Of course, she knew him. She practically grew up with him. And if there was one thing she'd always remind herself, is to not worry too much about his health. That the only time he'd need her medical help is either poison, or stomach cramps.

And usually it's the latter.

After Hinata excused herself to the comfort room, Sakura continued on her little journey along the hallways of the hospital. It took her a nanosecond to realize that the room she was searching for was only a few steps away.

There she stood by a door that looked exactly like any other door in the hospital. The only difference was, it was slightly open. She heard voices—two of them, specifically. But she wasn't alarmed with that information, since she knew who owned those deep and charming voices, who were apparently bickering about childish matter _again_.

Some things never change, she thought. She shook her head before knocking, not even waiting for an answer before letting herself in.

"Sakura-chan!" Of course, he'd be the first to greet her, with his loud voice that filled the hallway if she didn't close the door. "Sakura-chan, I missed you so, so much! Did ya miss me too? Man, do I have a lot of things to tell ya—"

"Aren't you supposed to be resting, Naruto?" The pinkette couldn't even put a fake annoyed face with the way the blonde Jinchuuriki just pouted at her.

"Aww, Sakura-chan. Is that a way to greet your greatest teammate and bestest best guy friend in the whole world slash future Hokage after a month-long mission?"

"You're not the only who came from a mission, idiot."

With the way Sakura held her hand up, anybody would think she'd smack him again. Well, she could if she wanted to. But today was a special day, so she chose to inherit Sai's habit, and patted Naruto's head, ruffling his golden locks poking out from a few bandages around his head. In return, the blondie stopped pouting and flashed her his infamous toothy grin, a smile worth waiting for one month.

"I'm just here to check up on you, my greatest teammate and bestest best guy friend." She had to chuckle after repeating her male teammate's words. "Hinata's on her way back, alright?"

Just a single mention of the Hyuuga girl, Naruto's smile grew wider and his cheeks turned a little bit red. Sakura knew why; explanation was no longer needed. He simply nodded, his whiskers vibrating as he kept smiling and giggling like a little girl.

"I missed you too, Naruto."

Just as the Hyuuga heiress came to the room and greeted her again, Sakura looked at her left and smiled.

"Well, I'll leave you two alone now." She didn't even miss the way the two blushed at the same time. "Hinata, I expect you to take care of that knucklehead, okay?"

After a nod, a few waves and another bid goodbye, Sakura walked out of the room without even holding the door.

* * *

It felt a bit of a deja vu standing outside Naruto's room, just leaning against the wall in the hallway. Sakura knew she was just there a few minutes ago, but she was in a good mood, so why bother?

With a smile still plastered on her face, she slowly turned to the figure beside her.

To anybody else, he would seem like a ghost who wouldn't even give a small warning that he was there. But Sakura wasn't "anybody else". She was Sakura. And she knew him too well to be scared of him.

But the least he could've done though, she thought to herself as a pout was slowly fighting its way to replace her angelic smile, was greet her. Or wave at her. Or say something, anything.

Even his annoying 'hn' could've been nice, too.

But as she stared at him at the moment, the way his face blended in the shaded light of the fluorescent lamps of the hospital hallways, the way his shoulder slouched but still kept his posture even, the way his hands felt warm and at ease inside his pockets, the way his eyes stared into nothing before noticing her emeralds at him... Sakura couldn't think of another complaint to give him.

"What is it?" was all he could say to her as she continued to stare at him.

"Do you want to take a walk outside?"

He nodded. She smiled. And both pushed themselves away from the wall and walked side by side towards the nearest exit of the building.

And so, there they were, walking beside each other in the same streets Sakura was walking just moments ago. Their silence followed them wherever they went. The villagers greeted them together, the pinkette waving once again, flashing a smile that would warm anybody's heart.

They just walked, not even noticing the time, or place, or even the direction they were taking.

"Do you remember ten years ago..." Finally, Sakura broke their silent bridge. "...that mission Tsunade-sama gave us?"

"Sakura, the Hokage gives us countless of missions everyday."

"Do you remember Suzuna?"

Their steps somewhat slowed down. Why, Sakura didn't know. But she didn't mind either.

"Aa."

"...I got a letter from her today."

Then they stopped.

And it took Sakura a few seconds to realize that they stopped in front of the same shop where she met Sai this morning, the same shop where she saw her hair's reflection, the same wedding dress shop she always looked at everyday.

"What did she say?" His voice caught her attention, a smile breaking into her face again.

"A lot of things. Like how she is right now. How Takaaki is, how the Kingdom is..." Sakura's face turned into a somber expression, yet the smile was still present. "Oh! And she even sent a small photo of she what looks like now too. I almost forgot how we both look alike."

He smirked, nodding. Then his head turned to the shop's direction, their reflections on the window, somehow covering the mannequins wearing frilly clothes and white wedding dresses.

"I kinda miss her."

"I know."

Sakura's face lifted up and saw where he was looking at. She followed suit and soon, their gazes on the glass window clashed, causing the pinkette to smile more, a tint of pink staining her cheeks.

"The wedding's in a week, right?" He asked her, still facing the shop, eyes on her reflection.

She nodded. This time, he turned his head to look at her, and so did she.

"Do you really have to do it? It could be anybody else." His voice seemed to have a tone Sakura liked, but she knew better than tease an Uchiha's pride. So she simply giggled at him.

"That's why Shishou gave us a week-long break, remember? For the wedding." The medic-nin took a step closer, her hand wanting to reach for his, her eyes on his lips rather than his dark eyes.

The boy could feel what she wanted to do, but stopped before he could lose control of himself. So, instead, he took the initiative to hold her left hand, and smirked at his beloved pink-haired angel that is Sakura.

"Besides,"—the said kunoichi smiled mischievously at the dark-haired boy, emeralds sparkling against the sunset's light—"...we wouldn't want anybody crashing the wedding again now, do we, Sasuke-kun?"

* * *

_Haruno Sakura-san,_

_It's been a while, hasn't it? Ten years, I suppose? A lot has happened ever since you and your team rescued the Twin Crescent Islands, and until now, we are still grateful of your team's efforts. The Islands had to adjust for a little while learning of the oath my parents made, but I assure you, it did not need ten years for everyone to finally live in peace without any regrets._

_But I didn't write to solely update you of the events of our Island. I simply wanted to know how you and your team are. I have heard of the war that my people have feared of reaching our territory. Thankfully, the amount of sea was enough to put us in safety. But what about you and your village? I do hope you are all safe and sound._

_Takaaki and I are doing fine. My people have accepted him even before he became King, and so did his people. Homura still helps him with all the royalty stuff, but other than that, we're both happy and content._

_I also wrote to tell you of great news. Sakura-san, as I am writing this, I am 3 months pregrant! Oh yes, I am very happy. Both Takaaki and I are very, very excited to see our first angel. We hope you come and visit soon as well._

_Sakura-san, I kept my promise to you. I kept the happiness you gave me. And I'm absolutely sure the Kingdom is happy too._

_Did you keep your promise to me? Ahah. Don't worry. Just as long as you're happy, Sakura-san, any man is worthy to be your husband._

_With all the gratitude,_

_Narumi Suzuna._

* * *

Just like what their Hokage promised, a week of preparation was enough for the wedding to possible. A week was enough, simply because it wasn't as extravagant as the couple wanted it to be. They wanted it simple, yet with a hint of class. Only a few families and clans were given invitations. And from those clans, only a few were allowed to come. They understood why, because they were also content with the ending of the couple.

Even though the wedding itself was known to be exclusive, after the wedding bells, the couple agreed that people could come and see them, to congratulate them, to celebrate their new life together, since Konoha is their family and family is an obligation.

Somewhere in the large village of Konoha, a certain Uchiha stood in front of his mirror, arranging his black and sleek suit, checking for any errors. Sasuke knew what kind of terror he'd face if Ino saw him with a single spot on his coat.

So he checked again, eyeing his reflection for the umpteenth time. God knows his life would be easier if Sakura was with him. But he knew better than to disturb the pink-haired kunoichi.

Speaking of which, he hadn't seen her ever since he woke up. He didn't know what she was wearing, or what she looked like, or how she wore her hair this time. All he could recall of her was a small visit from the night before, telling him that she'd be somewhere in the church, and that they "absolutely, in heaven's name, no way should they meet before the wedding."

The young Uchiha sighed at the memory. The least he could've gotten from her was a peck or a goodnight kiss. But all he got was a box containing the suit he was currently wearing, and a pat on the head. Then she was gone.

He just wanted to see her _right now_. Was that too much to ask?

Suddenly, a 'poof' woke him from his agonizing thoughts, his eyes scanned the mirror for the reflection of the intruder—because yes, Hatake Kakashi was sometimes considered an intruder in his house.

"What?" His annoyance was quite evident in his voice.

The silver-haired Jounin jumped off the window ledge and landed gracefully inside Sasuke's room, wearing almost the same exact suit as he did. Their difference was, Kakashi wore a bow tie and Sasuke had a necktie.

"Now, now, Sasuke. Before you go all Chidori on me,"—the Copy Nin slowly raised his hands up, stepping closer to the hot-headed Uchiha—"I actually have a reason to be here."

"And that is?" The Sharingan user growled as he turned to look at his ex-sensei.

Kakashi took out a yellow rose out of nowhere, somehow reminding Sasuke of a bastard prince. But he blinked his eyes to keep himself sane. He had to keep himself calm, or Sakura would never forgive him.

"This, and," Kakashi handed him the yellow rose, pointing it to the pocket of his suit. "Sakura told me to keep an eye on you."

Sasuke scoffed at his remark while placing the flower on his coat's pocket.

"That's the stupidest thing she's ever thought of asking you." He muttered.

"Don't make me tell her you said that, Sasuke-chan."

"_Don't. You. Dare._" He glared.

"I'm not scared of you, Sa-su-cakes."

They continued their glaring contest for seemed like an eternity, until Sasuke's clock chimed and signaled the two to leave.

They knew which way to go, which was a very weird road considering it was almost at the farthest part of Konoha, somewhere the villagers won't see them. Why they were instructed to use that path was something both men knew not to question—especially if it was Ino's instruction.

Once they reached the church, Sasuke noticed a variety of men and women, wearing kimonos and black suits and dresses, all formal and all clean and spotless and all perfect, solely for the main event of the day.

The young Uchiha continued his slow walk towards the inside of the church spotting his friends and batchmates one by one. The boys had different shades of black, all had yellow roses on their coats. The girls wore white, some frilly, some simple, some sleeveless, all had light blue flowers on their hair. He also spotted a few who he didn't recognize, probably because Naruto just had to be _extra_ friendly and invited a little too much.

Oh, and an added point, he even greeted Gaara and his siblings. He just _had_ to tell Sakura once he sees her.

But she was still out of sight.

By the time the wedding bells rang, people gathered to their specific places, the audience stood to watch the march, to wait for the main bride.

Everything happened slow yet fast, Sasuke didn't even listen to the music around him, didn't even look at anybody else. His head was just looking for a certain pink-haired idiot, and he was sure, since he was actually told the night before, that she was lurking somewhere around the church.

As he reached the end of the aisle, he stood beside Naruto, grinning like the idiot he was. Truthfully, Sasuke was happy for the blonde. Finally, he was happy and content with his life.

While the two stood by the altar, the main music started to play and people gasped in excitement.

The Uchiha eyed the main door of the church, reminiscing a memory that suddenly flashed into his head, something like breaking a giant wooden door ten years ago and see a pink-haired idiot running towards him. He had to chuckle to himself at the recollection.

And out from the door that looked like the door ten years ago, a beautiful angel emerged catching everyone's attention, even Sasuke's. He had to admit, standing by the altar and watching a bride walk to his direction was one of the greatest feelings he ever had. His onyx eyes stayed on the only moving figure in the church, her veil showing enough evidence of her face, enough to show everyone that she was the happiest bride that day, enough to show that she was simply happy.

As soon as she and her father reached the aisle, Sasuke took a second to closely look at the bride, and saw that Hinata really was _beautiful_.

He spared her a smile, and so did she. Then he bowed lightly to Hiashi, and turned to look at his idiotic blonde of a bestfriend. Naruto was a lucky man.

A few moments later, as the ceremony finally started, as the young Uchiha finally sat on his seat, he felt the chakra he'd been searching for come closer, carefully sitting beside him. He let out a sigh of relief.

"Sorry about that. Ino and I had a few things to finish." She whispered to him. "It's tough to plan a wedding for your friends in just a week, you know." He heard her soft and angelic chuckle.

He slowly turned his head and looked at the pink-haired girl beside him, with all her glorious beauty and just a simple white dress. It all does remind him of ten years ago, of that messed up wedding from another island, of how she was still beautiful despite the dress she wore was ripped and torn and stained. He gazed at her more and saw how light blue petals still fit perfectly into her pink tresses, before he stole a chaste kiss on top of her head, her hair kept into a messy yet elegant bun.

He felt his right hand being warmed by another, his eyes never leaving the scene of his best friend finally being wed to the love of his life.

"Sasuke-kun." She continued to whisper.

"Hn."

"Guess what?"

Her hand tightened its hold on his, making him gaze down on their intertwined fingers, a sight he'd love to keep forever. His head tilted lower, allowing Sakura to speak more quietly to his ear, only for him to hear and no one else.

"I'm pregnant."

For a moment of what felt like an eternity of bliss, Sasuke's eyes closed and lingered on the sweet voice of his lover, still ringing in his ear, making his heart beat faster, his lip curl upward. It took everything in him to not react too much, even though he was Uchiha. He wanted to shout, to scream, to laugh and rejoice, but he couldn't. Around him, it was Naruto and Hinata's time to be happy. Around him and Sakura, everyone was witnessing the beginning of a new love story.

But to him, to Sakura, to them, in their own world, they were beyond happy.

Happy was just an understatement then.

Unable to even react, Sasuke closed his eyes, sighed and smiled like there was no tomorrow. Beside him, he could feel Sakura contain her excitement, silently giggling to herself, because he knew, they both knew they were thankful. Truly grateful.

By the time he opened his eyes, another beautiful sight welcomed him. He stared at the perfect picture, the view of his right hand holding Sakura's left hand, her wedding ring, sparkling against the candles of the church. His thumb caressed the object, his eyes gazing at it like it was the only thing he could see.

At that moment, he knew, she knew, they both knew they were finally happy.

"Thank you."

* * *

**Phew. Finally, that's done with! After four months of endless anxiety, I finally came up with this this simple but sweet epilogue. Can I get an amen?**

**Anyways, again, thank you to all the readers of my new baby, I never thought I'd even make an epilogue for this. But because you guys just kept asking for something like a sequel or a continuation, I resorted to an epilogue. Just a mini backstory for this, **_**Speak Now Or Forever Hold My Peace**_** is actually a fic that's been stuck in my mind for years, and I only had this year to write it out. And so, you guys suddenly asked for a sequel, I had a hard time. But I hope I didn't fail your expectations.**

**Btw, just a bit of info for this specific chapter, as mentioned for the millionth time, the setting is 10 years ago, JUST TO BE SAFE. Coz, well, the war (which is happening right now) happened about 2 to 3 years after their Genin days. And then I think of, what might happen if Sasuke came back? He would need to redeem himself, so I put the safest timeskip.**

**And yes, NaruHina is my 3rd OTP, next to MinaKushi. Don't judge me.**

**Any more suggestions? Again, thank you for the support. Review well, no bashing please.**

**(When will I make another fanfic? Maybe next year, same time again. That's the only spare time I've got. Blame college. Cookies for everyone!)**

**Bye x**


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